Mae Hong Son wins happiness poll

Mae Hong Son residents are the happiest in the country and Bangkokians are the least happy due to stress caused by materialism, a high crime rate and bad family relationships, according to an Abac poll for the International Day of Happiness released Wednesday.

The Academic Network for Community Happiness Observation and Research, or Anchor, which works out of Assumption University, surveyed 12,429 people in 18 provinces between March 1 and 19.

They measured people's "happiness" based on 17 indicators based on scores of 1 to 10 points and found that general happiness had shrunk from last December's score of 7.61 to 6.58 now.

Happiness rankings among those living upcountry in percentage terms revealed that the happiest province was Mae Hong Son at 60.9 per cent followed by Phang Nga at 60.7 per cent, Chaiyaphum at 60 per cent, Prachin Buri at 57 per cent and Uthai Thani at 56.6 per cent.

The Nation