The hustle and bustle of our daily lives has led people to feeling unhappy and overwhelmed over time. Recent data mirrors a genuine dissatisfaction when it comes to how we cope with our surrounding environments and respective routines. According to some, the Middle East suffers from the highest rates of depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD and even suicide.
Taking this into account, it’s safe to say that most of us are on a seemingly never-ending quest towards a happy and calm life, earning a position on the top of everyone’s list. As much as changing a couple of your habits and tweaking some things around your routine may feel like it does the trick, where you are and live also plays a big part in how good you may feel. Finding your little piece of heaven can be quite difficult. The World Happiness Report might prove to be a useful guide.
The report ranks the best countries to live in based on a wide variety of data. Some of the metrics include GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy and freedom to make life choices amongst others. The 2022 edition is finally out and you’ll be surprised to hear which places have the best settings to settle in and live well.
It comes as no real surprise that Gulf states are amongst some of the highest ranked nations on the list. Bahrain peaks its nose at an early 21st place quickly followed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively positioned at the 24th and 25th position.
You’ll have to scroll down a decent bit before seeing some of their North African counterparts being mentioned. The report puts Libya at the 86th place, Algeria at the 96th position, and their Moroccan neighbors with a close third place being placed at the 100 benchmark. The rest of the Arab World quickly follows and are all occupying the ensuing spots. Iraq is ranked 107th, Tunisia 120th, Palestinian territories at the 122nd while Egypt, Yemen and Jordan respectively marked at the 129th, 132nd and 134th.
Last but not least, Lebanon, who’s been the unfortunate victim of several economic and political troubles in recent years, is second to last in the global table, rounding the list up by being put at the 145th place just before Afghanistan.
Created a decade ago, the report also aims to assist local governments in stringing the best set of policies to improve their country’s quality of life as well as the overall well-being of their citizens. As we can notice, some of the region’s nations still have a long way to go before being labeled as some of the world’s happiest places to live in.
