According to the new World Happiness Report issued by the United Nations, Jamaica is No. 3 in the list of happiest Caribbean countries, following top-ranked Puerto Rico and second-place Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica is rated 62nd among the happiest countries in the world, while Puerto Rico ranks 15th and Trinidad is in 43rd place. The current rankings are based on Gallup World Poll using updated information combining data from 2013-2015. In last year’s Happiness Report, Jamaica ranked second, behind top-rated Trinidad and Tobago.
The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness. The first report was published in 2012, the second in 2013, and the third in 2015. The World Happiness Report 2016 Update, which ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, was released on March 16, 2016 in Rome in advance of UN World Happiness Day, March 20th, 2016. Leading experts across fields – economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and more – describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations. The reports review the state of happiness in the world today and show how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness. They reflect a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as a criteria for government policy.
