File photo

 

It has been confirmed that Thailand is getting less and less happy. 

 

That's if the World Happiness Report is anything to go by.

 

The report is now in its tenth year and Thailand continues to go in the wrong direction. Previously ranked the happiest country in south east Asia, Thailand is now behind Singapore and even the Philippines. 

 

The kindom was ranked 61st most happy out of 146 nations on the list. It got 5.8 out of ten.

 

Six years ago Thailand was ranked 33rd. It had been 36th when the current government came to power in 2014. 

 

With the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha there was a brief honeymoon period in the first couple of years.

 

Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe

 

But since then it has been doom and gloom. Now it appears that the Land of Smiles has become the Land of Scowls.

 

The first three places were filled by perennial happiest country Finland (7.8) followed by Denmark (7.6) and Iceland (7.5) 

 

Only Israel in 9th and New Zealand in 10th bucked the European trend in the top 10.

 

The UK came in at 17th just behind Canada in 15th and the US in 16th. 

 

Australia was 12th and Germany 14th with France scraping into 20th.

 

Singapore made 27th and the Philippines was 60th on place ahead of Thailand. 

 

Bottom in the happiness stakes was Afghanistan. 

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2022-03-21

 

- Aetna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

With the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha there was a brief honeymoon period in the first couple of years.

Honeymoon period? Really? Where the heck was I, all I have seen and observed is folks upset with this regime from day 1, the only happy ones that had a honeymoon period would have been the Amart Elite.

The word happiness is very subjective and I would think impossible to measure. The level of corruption in Thailand is so great that I do not understand how anyone here is happy. This corruption is ingrained in Thai society from the very top to the lowest levels. Of course one must adapt the adage of "Mai Pen Rai" in order to survive this corruption but underneath one's mental health is rotting away.

Land of noses in the phones I saw yesterday eating out!

47 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Honeymoon period? Really? Where the heck was I, all I have seen and observed is folks upset with this regime from day 1, the only happy ones that had a honeymoon period would have been the Amart Elite.

The country went from 36th in 2014 to 33rd in 2016. A honeymoon of sorts! 

 

 

Rooster 

LAND OF SCAMS.

 

Pheu Thai Expects Return to National Administration

 

 

Nah, this is not right. Nothing much happened the last 10 years. It´s just that the happy meter has never been updated until now.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

With the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha there was a brief honeymoon period in the first couple of years.

The people didn't seem to reciprocate that honeymoon-like happy feeling. I can't blame them.

I'm happy. Will that help pull up the ranking?

I have lived here 10 years.  Not just a Thailand issue, but most people here seem fake toward Falang.  Fake friendly to probably just to get people's money.  I actually think the Phils is less fake. More desperate but not seemingly fake about it.  It all seems mostly economics and jealousy of westerners I think.

Sad really, no one has a choice where they are born.  On the big picture of life,  those of us born in western countries are very very lucky.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Land of noses in the phones I saw yesterday eating out!

Yeah, 'cause that's only a Thai thang...  ????????????

Prayuth need to take up his weekly singing, and this time make it compulsory to listen. I know he was going to save it for later career joining a boy band in Korea but now Thailand is in a dire strait happywise and it can´t wait.

15 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Land of noses in the phones I saw yesterday eating out!

Happiness? Everywhere we go we have to wear the mask. Maybe there would be a rise from 61 to ? if we took it off so they could see are smiling faces. I wonder how many truly happy places and happy faces there are in the world right now.

16 hours ago, Screaming said:

The word happiness is very subjective and I would think impossible to measure. The level of corruption in Thailand is so great that I do not understand how anyone here is happy. This corruption is ingrained in Thai society from the very top to the lowest levels. Of course one must adapt the adage of "Mai Pen Rai" in order to survive this corruption but underneath one's mental health is rotting away.

The level of corruption is one of the 6 factures used in compiling the rankings.

Been spiraling downward for a decade, minimum. Not surprising or unexpected at all. ????

 

 

 

Thailand 36, UK 17?

How T F did that happen? Lol

It is not about wearing masks or corruption, but look around.. no alcohol, demonstrations are knocked down, same sex marriage or Civil Union bill are being delayed all the time, more and more useless rules are being implemented, debts are rising, rich people are richer all the time and nobody can get rid of the Government, a police force only to punish the poor and corrupt for he rich, trffic accidents rising and education from the middle ages .. Thailand is missing the conection with the 21st century and still with the old ideas of the 19th century which doesn't make the country go forward. The gap is getting bigger and bigger 

17 hours ago, webfact said:

With the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha there was a brief honeymoon period in the first couple of years.

Then he began to wipe the smiles off the faces.

17 hours ago, webfact said:

With the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha there was a brief honeymoon period in the first couple of years.

Heading for a divorce.

12 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

I have lived here 10 years.  Not just a Thailand issue, but most people here seem fake toward Falang.  Fake friendly to probably just to get people's money.  I actually think the Phils is less fake. More desperate but not seemingly fake about it.  It all seems mostly economics and jealousy of westerners I think.

Sad really, no one has a choice where they are born.  On the big picture of life,  those of us born in western countries are very very lucky.

i can see right through them.  does not bother me.  parallel universe.  they are welcome to my money.  very lucky to have grown up in Malibu

Looks like the land of gunfights at the moment ????

Post May 2014 illegal takeover I see Thailand as the former Land of smiles.   I also now see my home country as the former Land of the free.  Very sad situation in both cases.

Actually, people here have been miserable for some time.  One extremely happy person has been holding up the average.  He (or she) must have died.

18 hours ago, webfact said:

The kindom was ranked 61st most happy out of 146 nations on the list.

 

It had been 36th when the current government came to power in 2014. 

There may be a clue there for even the lesser intelligent of us !

Difficult to smile with a damp, dank nappy covering half your face in 38 degree heat.

Thailand should be renamed the Land of No Smiles and the airline should be renamed Thai No Smile. It is clear that there is very limited happiness here.

18 hours ago, webfact said:

the government famously promising to "Return Happiness to the People" under Prayuth Chan-ocha

Be happy, or else!

TRex has been moving the country backwards for nearly 8 years now.

 

1. Has he ever come up with one policy that has benefitted the people?

2. What about his promise to fight corruption? 

3. What about the promise of transparency? Nothing but lies and oppression instead. 

4. What about the air quality, and the land and sea? 

5. What about traffic safety?

6. Police reform?

7. Army, immigration and customs corruption?

8. Poor covid performance? 9. The failed vaccination program? 

 

One could go on for days. They have brought nothing but regression, inflation, fear tactics, highly selective economic shutdowns, a shocking lack of progress with regard to anything, and a stifling set of restrictions, even though Covid has become endemic now. Thailand has become a nation of facial diaper wearers. 

 

And it has resulted in high unemployment, skyrocketing suicides and homelessness, and alot of unhappiness. Prayuth and his toxic army brings only  misery to the people. 

 

 

19 hours ago, Screaming said:

The word happiness is very subjective and I would think impossible to measure.

I agree, it's like most the livable cities, I look at them and the top #10 are never appealing. So subjective to be useless better to allow you to click a few thinks you place importance on and then a ranking pops out for you, rather then some bland thing that suits no one.

 

It's also tricky, corruption is one mentioned but the most corrupt nation to my mind is the UK, it depends who is defining what corruption is I guess  ? Some cop soliciting tea money so you don't have to pay for not wearing a helmet,  compared to the fine you'd get in Australia for the same thing and yet one is seen as corrupt and the other isn't ?

 

I also not sure what they are measuring ? An example,  NZ is #10 for example and has the highest youth suicide rate in the the OECD.  So the 70 yr old who has paid off there home and in a pension, with allowances may be happy in NZ< but the 17 yr old who sees nothing but a lifetime of debt for a poorly built house and terrible wages not so much ?

 

Good people can disagree endlessly over this but as long as we can make our own choices and go where we want that's an acceptable solution to me.