Tag: Iceland

Finland tops as the happiest country once again: UN report NEW DELHI: Finland has topped once again as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, according to the annual World Happiness Report 2024. Nordic countries continue to dominate the top rankings, with Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden following closely behind Finland. Meanwhile, Afghanistan was deemed as the least happy country- ranked at the bottom of the list of 143 countries surveyed, after Congo, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, and Lebanon. Among the Asian nations, Singapore ranked 30th, Japan at 50th, South Korea at 51st, and China at 60th. India, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh ranked 126th, 93rd, 108th, 118th, 128th, and 129th positions respectively. The report observed that in India, older age is associated with higher life satisfaction. However, older Indian women reported lower life satisfaction than older men. Education and caste played key roles, with older adults with secondary or higher education and those of higher social castes reporting higher life satisfaction than their counterparts without formal education and those from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The report also stated that women, worldwide were less happy than men in every region, with the gender gap widening as they aged. The report further ranked happiness in young people (aged 30 and below), where Lithuania, Israel, Serbia, Iceland, and Denmark ranked in the top five slots, with Finland being delegated to the seventh rank. India ranked at 127th spot in this. However, when it came to ranking happiness in old people (aged 60 and above), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland — all Nordic nations — ranked the highest, with India occupying the 121st spot. “Countries ranking highest for the old are generally countries with high overall rankings, but include several where the young have recently fared very poorly,” the report highlighted. The World Happiness Report is published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and takes into account six variables- GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption. It is supported by taking the average life evaluation data gathered by the Gallup polls for the 2021-23 period.

Finland tops World Happiness Report

NEW DELHI: Finland has topped once again as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive…

Swiss report: Bihar's Begusarai most polluted city NEW DELHI: According to the World Air Quality Report 2023 released by the Swiss organization IQAir, Bihar’s Begusarai has been ranked as the most polluted metropolitan area in the world. The report also identified Delhi as the most polluted capital city while placing India in the third position for worst air quality among 134 countries in 2023. Begusarai has an average PM 2.5 concentration of 118.9 micrograms per cubic meter- surpassing all other metropolitan areas this year, despite its absence from the previous year’s rankings. Delhi’s PM2.5 level worsened from 89.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022 to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023. The study looked specifically at PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. Only nine per cent of more than 7,800 cities analysed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter. Across India, approximately 96 per cent of the population lives with air quality seven times higher than WHO guidelines, according to the report. Central and South Asia were the worst-performing regions globally, home to all four of the most polluted countries - Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Tajikistan. South Asia is of particular concern, with 29 of the 30 most polluted cities in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. IQAir found that only 10 countries and territories had “healthy” air quality: Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, and French Polynesia.

Swiss report: Bihar’s Begusarai most polluted city

NEW DELHI: According to the World Air Quality Report 2023 released by the Swiss organisation…