157 countries were analyzed for the ranking
Zimbabwe has emerged as the most miserable country on the strength of famous economist Steve Hanke Annual Misery Index (HAMI), which judges nations primarily on economic conditions. The African country, which has left behind war-torn nations such as Ukraine, Syria and Sudan, is primarily plagued by skyrocketing inflation, which reached 243.8 percent last year. As per the ranking, a total of 157 countries were analyzed New York Post.
”Thanks to staggering inflation, high unemployment, high lending rates and anemic real GDP growth, Zimbabwe ranks as the world’s most miserable country in the Hanke 2022 Annual Misery Index. Need I say more?” Steve Hanke tweeted.
Thanks to staggering inflation, high unemployment, high lending rates and anemic real GDP growth, Zimbabwe ranks as the world’s most miserable country in the Hanke 2022 Annual Misery Index. Do I need to say anything more? pic.twitter.com/0uhfnWQUyW
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) May 21, 2023
Mr Hanke also blamed the country’s ruling political party Zanu-PF and its policies for causing “immense suffering”.
Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Tonga and Ghana are the other countries in the top 15 list of most miserable countries.
Meanwhile, Switzerland had the lowest HAMI score, meaning its citizens are the happiest. “One of the reasons for that is the Swiss debt break,” Mr. Hanke wrote, attributing the country’s happy success to a low debt-to-GDP ratio.
The second happiest country was Kuwait, followed by Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Niger, Thailand, Togo and Malta.
Whereas, India 103rd on the list With unemployment being a contributing factor to misery, according to the index.
The US ranks 134th on the list, with unemployment as the leading culprit of misery. Finland, which has been ranked the world’s happiest country for six consecutive years by the World Happiness Report, was ranked 109th on the unhappiness index.
More than $74 billion of American taxpayer money has gone into America’s proxy war in Ukraine. With an unemployment rate of ~20%, Ukraine is now the 8th most miserable country in the world according to the Hanke 2022 Annual Misery Index. Yet another great American “success” story. pic.twitter.com/N0yhiOyZgo
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) May 23, 2023
Notably, The Annual Misery Index is compiled by Steve Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University. The index is the sum of unemployment (multiplied by two), inflation, and bank-lending rates, minus the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita.