Zimbabwe has been ranked ‘most miserable country’ in the Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI) 2022. The country’s staggering level of misery has been attributed to the policies implemented by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, representing the ZANU-PF party. According to the index, Zimbabwe experienced a skyrocketing inflation rate of 243.8 per cent in the previous year.
India is placed at the 103rd spot, with unemployment identified as the primary contributing factor to the country’s relative level of misery.
Among the 157 countries analysed, Switzerland emerged as the least miserable, occupying the top position (157) on the list.
Grappling with economic and political challenges, Pakistan secured the 35th position on the list of the world’s most miserable countries. Inflation was identified as the primary contributing factor to Pakistan’s placement in the index.
Economist Steve Hanke’s index provided rankings for a total of 157 countries. The index is the sum of the year-end unemployment, inflation, and bank-lending rates, minus the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita.
Among the countries ranked, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Tonga, and Ghana emerged as the 15 most miserable countries worldwide.
Hanke shared the list of the top 15 countries on Twitter, expressing his observations. “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?” he tweeted.
Regarding Cuba’s ranking at ninth place, he said, “The ‘disastrous economic policies’ have left the country in shambles.”
Finland, constantly ranked as the world’s happiest country for six consecutive years according to the World Happiness Report, secured the 109th position on the misery index. The United States fared relatively well on the misery index, ranking among the least miserable countries at 134.
Other countries with the least misery levels include Kuwait (156), Ireland (155), Japan (154), Malaysia (153), Taiwan (152), Niger (151), Thailand (150), Togo (149), and Malta (148).