Bhutan: One of the happiest countries on the planet

Bhutan has constantly been one of the happiest countries of the world. Isn’t it very hard to believe, a country of the size of Indiana, the population of Alaska surrounded by the tall Himalayan Mountains is the “happiest country” in the world? The land of the Thunder Dragon is the only country that measures its progress based on the Gross National Happiness, not the Gross Domestic Product. So, what are the things that make Bhutan the happiest country of the world? Finding a single reason for Bhutan’s happiness is neither possible nor fair. A combination of different factors makes it happy and peaceful country. Here are a few possible reasons.

The Buddhist Thinking and Culture:
The majority of the Bhutanese population follows Buddhism philosophy. The people of Bhutan do not keep the Buddhism religion only to the books, institutes, and religious places. They intertwine the Buddhist culture in every aspect of life. The majority of the population is a strong believer in Karma. They believe, doing good things is the only way to life. Otherwise, they have to face some major consequences in the future. The people of Bhutan thinks, their good or bad deeds will decide their future not only in the present life but in life after it as well. Bhutanese people are very careful about their words, actions, and thoughts to ensure they only get positive things in life. Things like prayers, meditation, environmental awareness, strictly following the rules, taking care of people, and protecting wild life are the inseparable parts of Bhutan people.  So, the biggest factor responsible for the happiness of Bhutan we have unearthed is the Buddhist philosophy.

The community spirit:
The population of Bhutan is not even half of the cities like Shanghai, Delhi, Karachi, or Istanbul, etc. That’s perhaps another major reason of Bhutan’s happiness. The people of Bhutan believe in living as a community, instead of living as individuals. They are always together with each other in every moment of joy, happiness, financial difficulties, illness, and death, etc. The shoulders for support to the community members are never down. If there is a festival, several villages will gather together to be part of the celebrations.

Similarly, if something unfortunate happens, families are left to tackle all the tricky situations. They are well-supported emotionally as well as financially. So, the second most important reason for Bhutan’s happiness is the quotation “we are always together, no matter what.”

The government knows, how to maintain its little yet happy kingdom:
Government authority of any country makes a huge difference in the status and conditions of the country. Bhutan is known for its excellent governance. The kingdom of Bhutan is always very close to its people. There are different teams of doctors, psychologists, social workers, and statisticians, etc. to check the overall health, education, and treatment status around the country. The government of Bhutan successfully ensures to maintain eco-friendly, healthy, caring, and respective standards of living.

Life in Bhutan is not only about being engaged in your work all the time. The people of Bhutan know, how to be happy, and more importantly, how to keep others happy. There are a couple of more reasons for Bhutan’s happiness like love for nature, and limited reliance on digital gadgets, etc. We hope the whole world can learn a few lessons from Bhutan and can understand that “it is indeed possible to survive without wars.” Life is beautiful when you can take care of the people around you. We hope, the whole world could become Bhutan. Or, let’s Bhutan be the happiest place around the world.