Taiwan was ranked the fourth-happiest country in Asia, the second-happiest in East Asia and 27th in the world, in the World Happiness Report released on Monday by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report compiled data from surveys conducted in more than 150 countries and territories to measure happiness based on average evaluations over a three-year period. It used six factors — social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption — to evaluate happiness levels in countries around the world.
In the broad Asia grouping, Taiwan trailed Israel (No. 4 globally), Singapore (No. 25) and the United Arab Emirates (No. 26), but ranked second for East Asia behind Singapore and ahead of Japan (No. 47).
Photo: CNA
In the previous report, Taiwan was ranked fourth in the broader Asia grouping, after Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while ranking No. 1 among countries in East Asia.
Worldwide, Taiwan ranked No. 27, down one spot from a year earlier.
Finland, with a population of 5.5 million and which boasts a comprehensive welfare system, a high degree of equality and a high level of trust in the government by its citizens, was ranked as the No. 1 happiness country in the world for the sixth consecutive year, ahead of Denmark, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand.
The Nordic country and its neighbors Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway scored well because they “all have high ranks for both happiness and equality,” the report said.
“The Nordic countries merit special attention in light of their generally high levels of both personal and institutional trust,” it said.
The US was ranked the 15th-happiest country, while China and Hong Kong were ranked 64th and 82nd respectively.
Despite being invaded by Russia, Ukraine’s happiness ranking rose to 92nd, from 98th a year earlier. Russia was ranked 70th.
“Despite the magnitude of suffering and damage in Ukraine, life evaluations in September 2022 remained higher than in the aftermath of the 2014 annexation [of Crimea], supported by a stronger sense of common purpose, benevolence and trust in the Ukrainian leadership,” the report said.
Afghanistan remained at the bottom of the report, and has been ranked the unhappiest nation since 2020, when US troops began withdrawing from the country.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS