KATHMANDU: Nepal is ranked as 101st among 156 countries in the World Happiness Report-2018 released by United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

In 2015, Nepal was ranked 121st with a score of 4.514. Nepal has now accumulated a score of 4.880, climbing 20 spots above the former 2015 ranking.

In South Asia, Nepal ranks third behind Pakistan (5.472) and Bhutan (5.082) and stands above 115th ranked Bangladesh (4.500), 116th ranked Sri Lanka (4.471), 133th ranked India (4.190) and 145th ranked Afghanistan (3.632). Another South Asian nation the Maldives wasn't included in survey. Previously, Nepal was ranked fifth among the South Asian nations only above Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

The rankings were determined on the basis of Gallup surveys that analysed the key factors contributing to happiness level of people in individual countries from 2015-2017. GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption were determined as key determinants of happiness.

The top five happiest countries of the world are Finland (7.632), Norway (7.594), Denmark (7.555), Iceland (7.495) and Switzerland (7.487). Previously, Finland was ranked as sixth while Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland were in fourth, third, second and first places respectively.

Likewise, bottom five nations with lowest scores are Burundi (2.905), Central African Republic (3.083), South Sudan (3.254), Tanzania (3.303) and Yemen (3.355). This report was released on 14th March.