New York: African nation Zimbabwe is found to be the most miserable place on the planet, blame its ailing economy.
The Annual Misery Index ( HAMI) by noted economist Steve Hanke places the United States above India in terms of unhappiness, however both the nations are miserable because of unemployment.
Zimbabwe, which surpassed conflict ridden countries like Ukraine, Syria, and Sudan, climbed up misery ranking because of inflation touching 243.8 percent last year, according to New York Post.
Hanke blamed the country's ruling political party ZANU-PF’s policies for the situation.
Steve Hanke, who is the professor of Applied Economics at John Hopkins University, compiles the Annual Misery Index.
The rankings are based on factors such as unemployment, inflation, and bank-lending rates, alongside the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita.
The study that analyzed total of 157 countries ranked top Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Tonga, and Ghana among most miserable nations in a list of 15.
‘Thanks to stunning inflation, high unemployment, high lending rates, and anemic real GDP growth, Zimbabwe clocks in as the WORLD'S MOST MISERABLE COUNTRY in the Hanke 2022 Annual Misery Index. Need I say more?’ Steve Hanke tweeted.
Switzerland ranks lowest in HAMI score, showing its citizens are the happiest, thanks to the nation’s low debt-to-GDP ratio.
Kuwait is the second happiest followed by Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Niger, Thailand, Togo, and Malta.
India ranked 103 on the list owing to misery from unemployment, while the US ranked 134 because of the same reason.
Finland, the happiest nation in a row for six times according to the World Happiness Report, climbed up in misery ranking to 109 notch.