Why Indians are not as happy as they were 3 years ago, despite being richer

India has been ranked 133rd among 156 countries in the United Nations’ (UN) World Happiness Report 2018, 15 places down from its position in 2015.

This is despite the report’s finding that India’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the standard of living, and healthy life expectancy, a marker of well-being, have trended upwards over the last three years.

Source: World Happiness Report 2018

Further, participants surveyed during 2017 for the current report expressed greater satisfaction with their personal freedom–the freedom to make life choices–as well as greater confidence in their national government.