Cyprus slips on world ‘happiness index’

The World Happiness Report ranked the Republic of Cyprus at 41 out 146 nations and territories, slipping slightly since the last report but ahead of its neighbours such as Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon.

Finland once again stole the spotlight as it ranked first for the fifth year in a row with a score of 7.82, considerably higher than Cyprus’ 6.2.

Kazakhstan scored slightly higher than Cyprus and ranked number 40, while just behind Cyprus was Latvia. Malta ranked number 33.

The north meanwhile scored 5.4 and ranked 79, while Greece scored 5.9 and ranked 58. Notably, Turkey scored just 4.7 and ranked 112.

The breakaway province of the north was just ahead of Russia which ranked 80.

Cyprus’ neighbouring Israel made the top ten, scoring 7.3 and obtaining ninth place.

Cyprus ranked 34 in the 2013 report, out of a total of 156 nations and territories while the report in 2017 put the north at 61, ahead of the Republic at 65.

“There has, on average, been a long-term moderate upward trend in stress, worry, and sadness in most countries and a slight long-term decline in the enjoyment of life,” the report stated in its foreword.

It added that life evaluations have risen by one full point or more in some countries (led by three Balkan countries, Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia) and fallen this much or more in other countries in deep trouble, with Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Lebanon dropping the most.

For the young, life satisfaction has fallen, while for those over 60, it has risen – with little overall change. Worry and stress have risen – by eight per cent in 2020 and four per cent in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels

“Although the World Happiness Reports are based on a wide variety of data, the most important source has always been the Gallup World Poll, unique in its range and comparability of global annual surveys,” the report explained.