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From WIRE REPORTS
Two recently released studies have given conflicting pictures of just what it is like to live and work in Viet Nam.
The findings of the New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index, conducted by a British think tank, revealed that Viet Nam is the second-happiest country in the world. The survey ranked 151 countries on their ability to produce long, happy and sustainable lives for their people.
The study does not focus on a nation’s economic health, but instead on life expectancy, well-being, and ecological footprint. Viet Nam scored 60.4, behind only Costa Rica, which scored 64. The United States finished 105th.
“The Happy Planet Index measures what really matters ― long and happy lives now and the potential for good lives in the future,” said Nic Marks, NEF fellow and creator of the Happy Planet Index. “For too long we have relied on incomplete measures of progress that focus only on economic activity, such as GDP (gross domestic product.”
On the flip side, Vietnamese people have the least job satisfaction in Asia, a Gallup survey has found, with only 48 percent saying they have an “ideal” job.
The 2011 poll, released by the American company last week, ranked Viet Nam last out of 22 Asian countries. Laos topped with 90 percent followed by the Philippines.
China, whose unemployment rate of 5 percent is among the lowest in the region, was above only Viet Nam with 49 percent of respondents saying “yes” to “Would you say that your job is the ideal job for you or not?”
A low rate means the country has yet to satisfy its people’s expectations of promotion chances and confidence with its stability, VnExpress quoted Gallup as saying.
The survey polled 1,000 people from 15 years old in each country, including large economies such as Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, India, and South Korea.
