PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network
The Global Social Network
Pakistan's Happiness Index Score Suffers Steep Decline Amid COVID19 Pandemic
Amid the COVID19 pandemic, Pakistan's World Happiness ranking has dropped from 66 (score 5.693) among 153 nations last year to 105 (score 4.934) among 149 nations ranked this year. Neighboring India is ranked 139 and Afghanistan is last at 149. Nepal is ranked 87, Bangladesh 101, Pakistan 105, Myanmar126 and Sri Lanka129. Finland retained the top spot for happiness and the United States ranks 19th.
 |
| Pakistan Happiness Index Trend 2013-2021 |
One of the key reasons for decline of happiness in Pakistan is that the country was forced to significantly devalue its currency as part of the IMF bailout it needed to deal with a severe balance-of-payments crisis. The rupee devaluation sparked inflation, particularly food and energy inflation. Global food prices also soared by double digits amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bloomberg News. Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex, a measure of key farm goods futures contracts, is up almost 20% since June. It may in part be driven by speculators in the commodities markets. These rapid price rises have hit the people in Pakistan and the rest of the world hard. In spite of these hikes, Pakistan remains among the least expensive places for food, according to recent studies. It is important for Pakistan's federal and provincial governments to rise up to the challenge and relieve the pain inflicted on the average Pakistani consumer.
The year 2020 has been a tough year for the world as the COVID19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll both in terms of physical and economic health of the people. Jeffrey Sachs, a development economist who contributed to the report, addressed the impact of the pandemic by saying: “We need urgently to learn from COVID-19. The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally. The World Happiness Report 2021 reminds us that we must aim for wellbeing rather than mere wealth, which will be fleeting indeed if we don’t do a much better job of addressing the challenges of sustainable development.”
 |
| Pakistan Happiness Trend 2005-2021. Source: World Happiness Report ... |
The World Happiness Report 2021 uses metrics such as GDP, social support, personal freedom and levels of corruption to give each nation a happiness score, which is an average of the past three years. But unlike in the past years, this year the index included surveys on how countries have dealt with the COVID19 pandemic.
Haq's Musings
South Asia Investor Review
Pakistanis Happier Than Neighbors
Pakistan's Handling of COVID19 Pandemic
V-Shaped Economic Recovery in Pakistan
Construction and Manufacturing Sectors Lead Pakistan's Recovery
Pakistan Happiest Country in South Asia
PTI Government's Midterm Review
Pakistan's Recurring IMF Bailout
Pakistan's Trillion Dollar Economy Among top 25
CPEC Myths and Facts
Views: 230
-
Comment by Riaz Haq on April 4, 2021 at 8:47pm
-
ḳhudā ne aaj tak us qaum kī hālat nahīñ badlīna ho jis ko ḳhayāl aap apnī hālat ke badalne kāIt's better to light a candle than curse darkness!#Pakistan #selfhelp #volunteering #philanthropy
-
-
(V)accines fight the virus. To fight recession, you also need money — for example, trillions of dollars in stimulus — which lots of countries don’t have.
“They don’t have the space to either spend the money or borrow the money from markets and sustain their businesses and households,” said (Pakistan-born) Masood Ahmed, president of the Center for Global Development.
https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/05/imf-warns-global-growth-will...
The International Monetary Fund is expected to deliver some good news Tuesday — the worldwide economic expansion this year will be higher than it had last predicted, somewhere north of 5.5%. But the global financial institution also has a word of caution: That number is hiding a lot of unequal growth. We’re not all getting out of the pandemic at the same time. And that may leave lasting damage.
In a speech ahead of the IMF’s week of meetings, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had this simple warning: “The U.S. is looking good, India is looking good, China is looking good. Ah, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Russia, and parts of Western Europe are not so good.”
Latin America’s in trouble too. The dividing line between rich and poor countries isn’t neat and tidy, said Adam Posen at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Part of this global divergence is in the coronavirus vaccine — some, mostly rich, countries have a lot of it. Most middle-income and poor countries have very little.
But vaccines fight the virus. To fight recession, you also need money — for example, trillions of dollars in stimulus — which lots of countries don’t have.
“They don’t have the space to either spend the money or borrow the money from markets and sustain their businesses and households,” said Masood Ahmed, president of the Center for Global Development.
There’s also a cruel irony in the U.S.’ rapid economic recovery. As it and other countries spend their way to health, interest rates rise.“It tightens global financial conditions, and it means that emerging markets can experience capital outflows,” said Nathan Sheets, chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income.
Meaning that as richer countries heal, it makes it a little harder for some poorer ones to do so.
-
-
50% Pakistanis (37% more than an average global citizen) say they are never stressed: WIN International and Gallup & Gilani Pakistan
https://gallup.com.pk/post/31642
https://twitter.com/GallupPak/status/1381530712420052992?s=20
Comment
Twitter Feed
Live Traffic Feed
Sponsored Links
South Asia Investor Review
Investor Information Blog
Haq's Musings
Riaz Haq's Current Affairs Blog
Please Bookmark This Page!
Blog Posts
India Tariffs: Is Modi-Trump Bromance Over?
President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on India's exports to the United States. This is far higher than most countries facing US tariffs. Explaining the punitive India tariffs, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "India came to the table early. They’ve been slow rolling things. So I think that the president, the whole trade team has been frustrated with them. And also, you know, India, India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil that they then resell as refined…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on August 9, 2025 at 12:30pm — 5 Comments
Pakistan Ranked Among Top Donors to UN's World Food Program
The United Nations World Food Program has ranked Pakistan fourth among donor countries and sixth overall in 2024. Among the largest 15 donors worldwide, the United States topped the list with $4.45 billion, followed by Germany ($995 million), the United Kingdom ($610 million), European Union ($593 million), private donors ($335 million), Pakistan ($228 million), South Korea ($203 million), France ($196 million), Sweden ($183 million), Canada ($166 million), Norway ($158 million),…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on August 2, 2025 at 10:00am — 2 Comments
© 2025 Created by Riaz Haq.
Powered by
You need to be a member of PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network to add comments!
Join PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network