King the biggest source of happiness for people: poll

Happiness from feeling a deep sense of loyalty to His Majesty scores 9.2 points on a scale of 10.

Other main sources of happiness are the end to protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD), Thai athletes winning many medals at the Beijing Olympic Games, and a warm family.

The poll by the Academic Network for Community Happiness Observation and Research (Anchor) drew responses from 4,122 people in 17 provinces across the country from December 20 to Saturday.

Anchor director Noppadon Kannikar said yesterday the overall happiness index had jumped up to 6.8 points recently from 6.6 a few weeks ago.

"The surge in happiness coincides with forecasts that the gross domestic product is heading downward. This shows people's happiness does not depend on economic factors alone," he said.

 The latest survey also revealed some rare findings. Unlike previous surveys, Bangkok residents are now the happiest in the country with a score of 7 points.

The happiness score for those in other Central provinces, the Northeast, North and South are 6.9, 6.8, 6.7 and 6.4 respectively.

When asked what hurt feelings in the past year, 94 per cent said the bloody incidents on October 7 and the violent clashes between PAD protesters and DAAD supporters.

Some 86 per cent mentioned economic problems, and 84 per cent complained of political turmoil. Up to 74 per cent also lamented the unrest in the deep South.