Zimbabwe has been named the most miserable country amongst 157 countries in the world, according to Steve Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI), which analyses countries on the basis of their economic conditions.
The rankings are determined after looking into areas like unemployment, inflation, bank-lending rates and GDP growth. According to the HAMI report, Zimbabwe’s title emerged out of “economic mismanagement”, causing inflation and resulting in unhappiness among residents.
The African country even beat war-torn countries like Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Ukraine which led the pack of most miserable countries.
“We should expect a country embroiled in civil war for over 12 years now to be lacking in happiness,” Hanke said of Syria, which ranked third, reported New York Post.
Venezuela, which has been facing similar problems as Zimbabwe, ranked 2nd on the list because of its recent episodes of hyperinflation.
Meanwhile, Syria, which has been embroiled in civil war for more than 12 years now, ranked 3rd.
Where does India stand?
India was ranked at the 103rd position on the misery index, with the biggest contributing factor being unemployment, according to HAMI.
Which is the happiest country in the world?
Switzerland turned out to be the happiest country in terms of misery, according to the HAMI report.
“Switzerland has the lowest HAMI score in the world. One reason for that is the 'Swiss debt brake'. The debt brake has worked like a charm,” Steve Hanke said.
The United States, which is among the most sought-after countries, was listed at the 135th position as unemployment became the culprit for unhappiness, while the United Kingdom ranked 129 due to its massive inflation crisis.
Finland, which has been titled the world's happiest country for six years in a row by the World Happiness Report of the UN, was ranked 109th on the misery index due to a high rate of unemployment.
