Agency Bloomberg Releases Misery Index 2017which, based on criteria such as inflation and unemployment, ranks the countries of the world from the poorest and most unfortunate to the most prosperous. In total, the list includes 65 economies of the world.
For the third year in a row, Venezuela has been in the top ten. Economic woes have plagued this country for many years. Low oil prices - the country's only significant export commodity - fuel the crisis, which left food shelves empty, hospitals without essential drugs, and also triggered a rampant increase in violent crimes.
Poland has the strongest negative shifts in the rating, which jumped immediately from 28th place in last year’s ranking to 28. And the higher the line in the rating, the more problematic is the country's economy. Although Poland has seen a steady decline in unemployment, due to the financial crisis, inflation rose to 1.8 percent in January 2017 after a long period of deflation.
Poverty is also rising in Mexico, according to Bloomberg. Compared to 38th place in 2016, the country climbed to 31st place. The combination of the cessation of government fuel subsidies and the depreciation of the peso by 11 percent against the dollar since the US presidential election in November has a negative effect on prices in Mexico.
The UK will also suffer economically in 2017 due to Brexit. The beginning of the country's exit from the European Union drove the pound to a mark below the 30-year low, which led to an increase in the value of imports and, along with this, to inflation. But the rise in prices in the UK was low, as oil prices fell at the end of 2014.
Top 13 most unhappy countries in the world
And Thailand has once again become the poorest and least destitute country, thanks in large part to its uniquely high employment rate. Also, positive dynamics are noted in countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, Ecuador and Russia. Each of them went down in the Bloomberg selection by 9 points or more. In the Misery Index of 2017, Russia ranks 21st. As for the United States, the country remained among the 20 least unhappy countries in the world (at 49th place), although it is inferior to China (52nd line).
The happiest economically 2017 countries
