Malaysia 51st "happiest country"

In a United Nations commissioned report so-called "World Happiness Report", Malaysia is ranked the 51st "happiest country". The criteria is measured via a country's economic performance in gross national product or gross domestic product.

The report, commissioned for the UN Conference on Happiness held in New York on Monday was compiled on the basis of survey responses received from 2005 until mid-2011 to "measure the happiness level of 156 countries".

In Malaysia's case, there were a number of factors that led to its 51st ranking.

Materialistic prosperity of individuals may have been one thing but wealth, usually an indicator of a person's material wellbeing, was not the only crucial factor in this determination.

Malaysia was ranked 2nd in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore which emerged as the happiest in the region.

On a worldwide basis, the island was ranked 33rd out of the 156 countries. Thailand was ranked 52nd, Myanmar landed at 74th position and Indonesia was 83rd.

The rich Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Finland and Norway took the top three rankings in the report which suggested that nationals of richer countries tend to be happier despite the fact that wealth was not the defining factor for happiness.

Read more at The Star..Malaysia 51st "happiest country," says UN