Youths happy, middle-aged not, as Bangladesh falls in global happiness ranking

Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS Creative

The smiles of the youth were dulled by decreased happiness levels among the upper-middle age (45-59 years) group which caused Bangladesh to dip eleven notches in a global wellbeing index. 

Bangladesh turned its smile upside down as the annual World Happiness Report has placed it 129th among 143 countries in overall happiness ranking. 

Young people in Bangladesh, or those below 30, are the happiest group, followed by the older group aged 60 and above with.

In Bangladesh, the least happy age group is the upper middle-aged cohort (aged 45-59), closely trailed by the lower middle-aged group (aged 30-44).

Overall, Bangladesh placed among the bottom 15 countries in the report which for the first time included separate rankings by age groups. 

Finland ranked as the happiest country in the world for the seventh time in a row. It was followed by two more Scandinavian nations – Denmark and Iceland – said the World Happiness Report 2024, released today (20 March) on the occasion of International Day of Happiness.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Dr Zeenat Huda, professor and chairperson of the Department of Sociology at the University of Dhaka, said, "Demographically, it sounds okay that the younger population are the happiest in Bangladesh. Many of these people have dreams and aspirations that drive through their daily lives and remain hopeful about the future." 

"Meanwhile, the upper middle-aged group upon crossing the age of 45 may see that three out of five of their dreams have not been fulfilled. They are more stressed about their daily work-life and maintaining their families' livelihood," said Zeenat.

The happiness report was developed through a partnership between Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report's editorial board.

People in 143 countries and territories are asked to evaluate their life on a scale from zero to 10, with 10 representing their best possible life. Results from the past three years are averaged to create the ranking. 

This year, Nepal once again tops the overall ranking of happiness among six South Asian nations surveyed as it placed 93rd globally. It is followed by Pakistan (108th), India (126th), and Sri Lanka (128th).

Afghanistan (143rd) remained at the bottom of the region.

Bangladesh was in 118th position in the previous report, down from 94th position in 2022, and 101st in the 2021 rankings. The country was 107th in 2020 and 125th in 2019.

Youths are happiest in S Asia, unhappiest in developed economies

The young below 30 are found to be the happiest in all the surveyed South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, among their age group. 

However, youth in developed economies like Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are in the least happy age group.

Meanwhile, the United States of America (23rd) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the well-being of Americans under 30.

Asked about the youth being the least happy in developed economies, Dr Huda said, "There are numerous socio-cultural differences that separate the way people in the West approach and feel about life compared to us. In Bangladesh for example, we are more family-oriented whereas people in developed nations prioritise their individual goals.

"In such developed countries, many young people must leave their homes around the age of 18 and start building their life on their own. Education is often expensive in these countries and these young people must earn to support their own growth. This places a feeling of anxiety about their responsibilities and starting their family on their own. Meanwhile in Bangladesh [and other South Asian countries], parents remain responsible for taking care of their children even after the age of 18 in most cases."

When it comes to the least happy age group, happiness is lowest in the middle age groups in South Asia, read the report.

Neighbouring India's lower-middle age group are the least happy. Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had the least happy group being the upper middle-aged population.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Afghanistan's old age group are the least happy.

Lithuania tops the list for children and young people under 30, while Denmark is the world's happiest nation for those 60 and older.

In most countries, life satisfaction drops gradually from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, read the report. 

Globally, young people aged 15-24 still report higher life satisfaction than older adults. But this gap is narrowing in Western Europe and recently reversed in North America due to falling life satisfaction among the young. Conversely, in Sub-Saharan Africa life satisfaction has increased among the young.