Armenia placed 121st in new World Happiness ReportMarch 20, 2017 - 13:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia was ranked the 121st in a new report on world’s happiest countries, released on Monday, March 20 that called on nations “to build social trust and equality to improve the wellbeing of their citizens.” The World Happiness Report 2017 is produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative launched by the United Nations in 2012. Armenia’s northern neighbor Georgia lags behind in the 125th spot in the fifth annual report covering 155 countries. Meanwhile, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran have registered better results, claiming the 69th, 85th and 108th positions, respectively. In the survey, Norway displaced Denmark as the world's happiest country, with Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden rounding out the top ten countries. South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Central African Republic were at the bottom. Germany was ranked the 16th, followed by the United Kingdom (19th) and France (31st). The United States dropped one spot to 14th, while Russia came in the 49th. The rankings are based on six factors -- GDP per capita, healthy years of life expectancy, social support (as measured by having someone to count on in times of trouble), trust (as measured by a perceived absence of corruption in government and business), perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity (as measured by recent donations). Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |