To tourists, they may be some of the most beautiful and fascinating places in the world, but for those who live there, life is pretty depressing. The Cato Institute has determined the 90 most miserable countries in the world.
According to the list, Venezuela is the most depressing country in the world, receiving a score of 79.4. The high rating is mostly due to the high rate of inflation. The second most miserable country is Iran with a score of 61.6, followed by Serbia (44.8) Argentina (43.1) and Jamaica (42.3).
The index was determined by adding the unemployment to the lending and inflation rates for each county and subtracting the percentage change in Gross Domestic Product per capita. The data was also based on information from the Economist Intelligence Unit and other experts.
The United States did pretty well as it only placed No. 71 on the list. It received a score of 11.0 on the misery index and the major contributing factor was unemployment. The United Kingdom was slightly more miserable, receiving a 12.9 on the misery index and putting it at number 62 on the list. The UK's main problem was also unemployment. Some other major contributing factors for other country's misery index numbers include inflation, interest rate and real GDP growth. The lowest country, or least miserable was Japan at number 90. Japan had a misery index number of 5.41 and its problems are due to unemployment as well.
Here are the top 25 most miserable countries in the world:
1. Venezuela
2. Iran
3. Serbia
4. Argentina
5. Jamaica
6. Egypt
7. Spain
8. South Africa
9. Brazil
10. Greece
11. Macedonia
12. Palestinian Territory
13. Turkey
14. Cyprus
15. Croatia
16. Dominican Republic
17. Georgia
18. Nicaragua
19. Honduras
20.Costa Rica
21.India
22.Jordan
23.Ukraine
24.Peru
25.Uruguay
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
