Korea ranks among the world's lowest in 'happiness index'

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, December 9, 2023 | 18:24

Korea ranks among the world's lowest in 'happiness index'

Posted : 2012-07-10 14:18

Updated : 2012-07-10 14:18

Korea ranked lower than most other industrialized countries in terms of happiness felt by its citizens due in part to relatively poor scores in income distribution and social equality, a report showed Tuesday.

South Korea stood at 32nd out of 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of the "happiness index," according to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

The report was based on analysis of 19 sub-indices associated with the quality of life that include poverty, income levels, the environment and stability of a social network, the institute said.

South Korea received 4.2 points on a scale of 10, which was far lower than the OECD average of 6.23, the report showed. Turkey and Mexico were the only countries whose rankings were below Korea.

Denmark topped the list with 8.09 points. Australia, Norway, Austria and Iceland came next with 8.07, 7.87, 7.76 and 7.73 points.

South Korea ranked relatively lower than other countries in almost all categories, the report showed.

In social network stability, which reflects environmental conditions and relations between individuals, Korea ranked the lowest at 34th among the surveyed countries.

Korea also stood at 32nd in perception about personnel health, 28th in generosity about minority groups, 28th in poverty rates, and 21st both in employment rates and the Gini coefficient, a measure of income gaps between haves and have-nots, according to the report. (Yonhap)

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