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Public works authority (Ashghal) will carry out the projects in Al Wakrah and other southern areas. (File)
Low cost of living, plenty of jobs to choose from, salaries to maintain a decent lifestyle and manageable personal debt – all these make up a comfortable life for an average person and the land s/he lives in a perfect one.
On the other side of the spectrum, are countries that are not doing well, which means long queues of the unemployed for scarce jobs, under-paying jobs for others, high inflation rate, resulting in a below par lifestyle.
The latest Misery Index by Cato Institute, a US think tank headquartered in Washington DC, ranks 108 countries in the world according to unemployment, inflation and interest rates – and lists the most and least miserable ones.
The five most miserable countries in the world at the end of 2014 are, in order: Venezuela, Argentina, Syria, Ukraine, and Iran. In 2014, Argentina and Ukraine moved into the top five, displacing Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe.
The five least miserable are Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The United States ranks 95th, which makes it the 14th least miserable nation of the 108 countries on the table.
Within the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC), Saudi Arabia tops the list, with 20.35. The largest economy in the region gets a rank of 47th globally as of 2014.
Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are among the "least miserable" countries in the region, taking the 82nd, 91st and 92nd place, respectively. The UAE does not figure on the list.
Here are all the countries and their scores on the Misery Index:
Rank (Worst to Best) Country Misery Index
1. Venezuela 106.03
2. Argentina 68
3. Syria 63.9
4. Ukraine 51.8
5. Iran 49.10
6. Brazil 42.79
7. Sao Tome and Principe 42.06
8. Serbia 40.32
9. Jamaica 39.85
10. South Africa 39.16
11. Sudan 38.71
12. Macedonia 36.53
13. Kyrgyzstan 35.17
14. Belarus 34.81
15. Armenia 34.45
16. Spain 34.32
17. Palestine 33.50
18. Egypt 32.72
19. Greece 32.02
20. Cyprus 31.55
21. Bosnia and Herzegovina 31.22
22. Turkey 29.72
23. Mongolia 29.25
24. Belize 28.90
25. Uruguay 28.37
26. Honduras 28.07
27. Dominican Republic 27.98
28. Barbados 27.83
29. Paraguay 27.01
30. Costa Rica 26.87
31. Croatia 26.77
32. Kazakhstan 26.33
33. Pakistan 26.13
34. Nicaragua 25.06
35. Georgia 24.82
36. Jordan 23.59
37. Azerbaijan 23.32
38. India 23.14
39. Cape Verge 22.81
40. Portugal 22.53
41. Albania 21.60
42. Russia 21.42
43. Suriname 20.68
44. Bhutan 20.63
45. Algeria 20.50
46. Indonesia 20.35
47. Saudi Arabia 20.35
48. Bangladesh 20.12
49. Peru 20.09
50. Colombia 19.61
51. Moldova 19.27
52. Bulgaria 19.09
53. Bolivia 18.38
54. Myanmar 18.37
55. Italy 18.08
56. Mauritius 17.82
57. Estonia 17.57
58. Romania 16.75
59. Slovenia 16.63
60. Slovakia 16.43
61. Fiji 16.03
62. Seychelles 15.67
63. Poland 15.54
64. Sri Lanka 15.27
65. Trinidad and Tobago 15.13
66. Vietnam 15.02
67. Hungary 14.94
68. Latvia 14.94
69. Morocco 14.75
70. Chile 14.42
71. France 14.17
72. Lithuania 13.96
73. Ecuador 13.72
74. Ireland 13.62
75. Mexico 13.18
76. Malta 12.73
77. El Salvador 12.56
78. Australia 12.53
79. Belgium 12.22
80. Philippines 12.21
81. Finland 11.79
82. Qatar 11.79
83. Iceland 11.66
84. New Zealand 11.47
86. United Kingdom 11.03
87. Denmark 10.96
88. Czech Republic 10.76
89. Canada 10.62
90. Netherlands 9.94
91. Bahrain 9.77
92. Kuwait 9.65
93. Panama 9.39
94. Hong Kong 9.25
95. United States 9.22
96. Sweden 9.01
97. Thailand 7.94
98. Austria 7.63
99. Germany 7.62
100. Singapore 7.44
101. Malaysia 7.36
102. Norway 7.22
103. South Korea 6.86
104. Japan 6.18
105. Taiwan 5.91
106. China 5.69
107. Switzerland 5.39
108. Brunei 4.94
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