The ideology of government is in contradiction with happiness.

Annual list of the happiest countries in the world based on survey results.

Galup Institute

Once again, it was announced and for the consecutive year, the people of Finland were named the happiest people in the world.

A look at the top 10 happiest countries in the world reveals that, aside from Israel and Indonesia, the rest of the countries are located in Europe. On the other hand, it is the Middle Eastern and Western Asian countries that have taken the three-digit rankings on this list.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is currently ranked as the 111th country; a position that has not significantly changed in recent decades according to this survey. In this article, we will take a look at some of the reasons why Iranians are not happy with their country’s ranking in global surveys.

What are the criteria for a country to be happy?

According to Gallup Institute surveys, factors such as “hope for life”, “per capita gross domestic product”, “social support for citizens”, “level of corruption in government”, “generosity and care for each other”, and “freedom in key life decisions” are among the criteria considered for selecting the happiest countries in the world.

The history of this survey dates back to over a decade and throughout these years, Iran has been in similar positions. The first conclusion that can be drawn from this is that at least in the past decade, Iranians have not felt a difference in their lives at all levels in order to achieve a better position.

Now, if we look back at the decades before this (at least in the past four decades), the situation has been similar.

Iran is a country where its middle class has faced various economic challenges in recent decades, including government’s inability to increase domestic production and neglect of industries and agriculture, disregard for teachers and workers, multilateral sanctions due to misguided government policies, and many others, resulting in unsuccessful attempts to provide for the livelihood of the people. Inflation, high prices, and unemployment are just a few general issues that the Islamic Republic governments have failed to control even at minimum levels.

From this village, the majority of the community, who are facing difficulties in meeting their basic needs, are also unable to find a happy way of life.

The role of ideological ceremonies.

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Religious and governmental in people’s unhappiness.

The Islamic Republic – as its name suggests – is a government based on Islamic principles. A government in which the majority are followers of the Shia Twelver sect. A simple look at the annual calendar of Iran shows that the government places great importance on religious occasions and goes beyond that to give special importance to “mourning”.

In the calendar of the Islamic Republic, from the passing of the Prophet of Islam and the Imams of Shia to the mourning ceremonies of the month of Muharram, only a small part of the year is dedicated to the government, not only prohibiting citizens from happiness in public society, but also forcing them to mourn through extensive propaganda. Although this does not apply to all Iranian society, the majority of the society is still influenced by these ideological systems, whether willingly or unwillingly.

Closure of shopping centers, several days of closure for cinemas and theaters, and restrictions on recreational centers are among these measures.

Even during the month of Ramadan, which many Islamic countries consider as a major celebration, the Islamic Republic, with its targeted programs, has turned the month of Ramadan into a social crisis by creating biological restrictions and mandatory fasting, under the pretext of the killing of the first Shia Imam.

It is not just Islamic occasions that the Islamic Republic has hindered from bringing minimal happiness to society; ideological occasions such as the liberation of Khorramshahr, uprisings that led to the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, and events like Quds Day and Gaza have all pushed the society towards a state where being happy is more of a concept and dream rather than a reality.

The decline in all aspects of living happily.

In the history of Iran, there are many local and ancient celebrations. People used to celebrate these festivals and traditions in the not-so-distant past of this land.

Over the course of time – especially during the past four decades, not only did the economic situation of the people of Iran not improve, but the government also took away everything that belonged to the people, such as celebrations, happiness, customs, and even music. It may not be accurate to use the term “exile”, but they were essentially exiled. Iranians living outside of the country have more freedom in holding celebrations related to Iran, and even the small-scale celebrations are met with opposition and obstruction from the government.

In fact, a country that could be said to have once had happy people, has declined in all aspects over the course of several decades and its people have become restricted and oppressed.

As a result, losing a good social and political position and falling to lower ranks afterwards, also causes a general depression among individuals in a society from a psychological perspective. It can be compared to the repeated failures and inability to achieve victory by a community, ultimately leading to a sense of incapability for future struggles; which can be referred to as “inability to live happily” in this context.

It must be added that the governing systems in Iran do not recognize the happiness of the people in line with their ideology, and it is not surprising that they even welcome Iran being ranked as one of the saddest countries in the world.