People in Taiwan enjoy a “moderate level” of happiness compared with their peers in nations in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the national happiness index released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday.
The national happiness index — compiled from a total of 24 indicators in 11 categories and based on the OECD’s Better Life Index — stood at 6.64 points this year, the DGBAS said.
Taiwan ranks 19th among the countries assessed in the two indexes.
“Taiwan’s level of happiness is in the middle,” DGBAS Minister Shih Su-mei (石素梅) told a press conference.
Australia is the OECD’s happiest nation with an index reading of 7.95 points, followed by Sweden and Canada, the report showed.
Among the Asian nations surveyed, Taiwan ranked the highest, ahead of Japan and South Korea, which were rated 27th and 28th respectively.
Among the 11 categories, Taiwan was ranked third for safety, which the DGBAS attributed to relatively few violent crimes, the report said.
In addition, Taiwan ranked highly in the categories related to living conditions, housing, and income and jobs, placing ninth, fourth and 10th respectively, the report said.
However, the nation’s environment ranking stayed at 35th, and DGBAS said that was a reflection of the impact of the large number of motorcycles and industrial activity.
Shih said the results showed Taiwan’s material living conditions are better than its quality of life.
Notably, the category of life satisfaction in Taiwan was ranked 25th, the DGBAS said, mentioning the results of a Gallup World Poll last year, when respondents in Taiwan gave themselves 6.1 points out of 10 points when measuring their living conditions.
The DGBAS said the risk of cultural bias remains when comparing subjective life satisfaction across different nations, with people in eastern Asian countries often avoiding extreme answers.
The report came after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) instructed the DGBAS to prepare a national happiness index last year to gauge the nation’s living conditions.
The DGBAS said it would release the happiness index annually.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS