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2023 Mideast happiness rankings: UAE, Israel happiest as Lebanon hits bottom

The Middle East and North Africa region remains the least happy region after sub-Saharan Africa globally, but several regional nations have become happier in comparison to the previous period.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images
People queue to withdraw cash from an ATM outside a bank in Lebanon's capital Beirut, on Jan. 20, 2023. — JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon is the least happy nation in the Middle East region, and Israel and Gulf nations are the most, while Turkey continues to decline in happiness rankings according to a new edition of the World Happiness Report released this week. 

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s 2023 World Happiness Report ranks 137 countries based on several criteria including income, health and a sense of freedom to make key life decisions. The Middle East and North Africa is the least happy region after sub-Saharan Africa, the report shows, but a comparison of the 2022 and 2023 rankings shows that several countries including Israel, Iraq and Iran have become happier over the past year. 

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