The Hanke Annual Misery Index (HAMI) shows that the Kuwaitis are the happiest Arab people and the second happiest people in the world, after Switzerland in a list of 157 countries.
The index is the sum of unemployment (multiplied by two), inflation, and bank-lending rates, minus the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita.
According to the index, Kuwait achieved a strong performance in all fields in 2022. Based on Hankey's calculations, the negatives were minimal, while the good indicators were strong (annual real GDP growth reached 4.5 percent).
The Top 10 ‘happiest’ countries as per the index are Switzerland, Kuwait, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Niger, Thailand, Togo and Malta while the Top 10 ‘miserable’ countries are Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba and Turkey.
The Misery Index helps determine how the average citizen is doing economically and is calculated by adding the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to the annual inflation rate.