The happiest countries also rank among the highest in antidepressant consumption

Source- The post is based on the article “The happiest countries also rank among the highest in antidepressant consumption” published in “The Indian Express” on 23rd March 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to development and management of human resources.

Relevance– Important reports and indices

News– World Happiness Report 2023 published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions released recently.

What are some facts about the World Happiness Report 2023?

Denmark is at number two and Iceland in the third spot. Sweden and Norway, are at six and seven, respectively.

The ranking uses six key factors to measure happiness — social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption.

What are issues related to the happiness report?

As per the data released by the OECD, the use of antidepressants increased nearly two and half times across Europe between 2000 and 2020. Iceland is at the top spot, followed immediately by Sweden and Norway. Finland and Denmark come in at number eight and nine.

The measures used to map happiness often don’taccount for things such as loneliness in highly developed societies. Material well-being does not preclude conditions like clinical depression.

These reports rank each nation for the efforts taken by their government for happiness among its citizens. Happiness itself is too ineffable, individual and elusive. It cannot be properly assessed by rankings and measurements.