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Indonesian happiness paradox
Measuring a country’s happiness is a tricky matter.
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Measuring a country’s happiness is a tricky matter. (Shutterstock/*)
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easuring a country’s happiness is a tricky matter. Indonesia, for instance, with its US$3,346.50 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2015, is an intriguing case. The World Happiness Report, a study that factors a country’s GDP level into their results, ranked Indonesia as the 79th happiest country out of 157 countries in 2016.
Studies that do not factor in Indonesia’s GDP, however, rank Indonesia as one of the happiest countries in the world. In 2014, global research company IPSOS found Indonesia to have the highest percentage of “very happy” citizens amongst 24 countries.
Similarly, the Happy Planet Index (HPI) ranked Indonesia as the 16th happiest country amongst 140 countries, in addition to Gallup’s ranking of Indonesia as the seventh highest country on their positive experience index, a measure intended to indicate how pervasive positive emotions are in a country. This begs us to question: Is GDP per capita really an accurate measure of a country’s happiness?
Comparing Indonesia’s and the United States’ rankings in each of these studies suggests otherwise. In comparison to Indonesia’s GDP per capita, the US’ GDP per capita is significantly higher at $56,115.70 in 2015. The US’ 13th rank in the World Happiness Report, as opposed to Indonesia’s lower rank of 79th, is thus not surprising.
Yet IPSOS’ internet survey, in which Indonesians answered whether they are very happy or simply rather happy, Indonesia scored remarkably higher than the US. IPSOS reported that 55 percent of Indonesians indicated that they are “very happy,” in comparison to the US’ 26 percent, which came in at sixth.
Gallup’s 2016 Global Emotions Report also ranked Indonesians as happier than Americans. Gallup surveyors asked questions to measure positive experiences, such as “Did you feel well-rested yesterday?,” “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?” and “Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday?”
After creating an index based on all the affirmative answers with country-level index scores ranging from zero to 100, Gallup reported Indonesia scored a high 82. The US did not even make it to the 10 highest scores.
