The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s 2023 World Happiness Report included only two Caribbean nations—Jamaica and the Dominican Republic—among the 132 ranking countries. According to the report, Jamaica came in at number 68, and the Dominican Republic at number 73. In contrast, Jamaica’s position in 2021 was 37.
The greatest incidence of COVID-19 infection and mortality occurred in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, on which the report’s rankings were based. The Gallup World Poll, which asked participants to assess their present lives generally, serves as the primary data source for the study. The paper notes that the assessments are based on three primary well-being indicators—life evaluations, happy emotions, and negative emotions—and are thus subjective. The 2023 report gave everyday emotions extra consideration in order to assess how COVID-19 altered numerous facets of living.
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Each country on the list typically provides 1,000 replies, which are then weighted to provide annual national averages that reflect the population. A three-year average is then utilized.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, social support, a healthy life expectancy, the freedom to pursue one’s goals in life, views of corruption, and charity are factors taken into account when determining how happy a nation is.
Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands are among the top five happiest nations on Earth. According to the research, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the five least happy countries.
According to John Helliwell, one of the report’s authors, there is a reason for hope because kindness will be around 25% greater in 2023 than it was before the COVID-91 epidemic, particularly in terms of assisting strangers. In an interview with CNN, he said that worldwide averages were “remarkably resilient” and consistent with the three years before the epidemic and that overall happiness stayed largely unchanged over the three years of the pandemic. During the pandemic years, he said, pleasant emotions were still twice as common as negative ones, and experiences of “positive social support” were twice as strong as those of loneliness.
