2025 Hanke's Annual Misery Index Released: Taiwan Ranks as Happiest Economy
The 2025 Hanke's Annual Misery Index has been released, with Taiwan ranked as the happiest economy globally with a score of 2.1 points. Venezuela, on the other hand, was identified as the most miserable economy with a score of 556.4916 points.
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Washington, April 29, comprehensive foreign report) The U.S. 'Fortune Magazine' this month released the 2025 Hanke's Annual Misery Index, with Venezuela ranking first among 178 countries as the world's most miserable economy. Taiwan, with a misery index of 2.1 points, was rated as the happiest economy globally for 2025.
Professor Steve Hanke, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, is known as the 'Money Doctor' due to his career as an economic advisor around the world. He uses readily available economic data to measure how 'miserable' or 'healthy' an economy is, much like taking a patient's temperature.
Hanke's Annual Misery Index (HAMI) is calculated by multiplying a country's year-end unemployment rate by 2, adding the inflation rate and bank lending rate, and then subtracting the annual growth rate of real GDP per capita. The median misery index for 2025 is 21.85, and the average is 31.64.
The top ten most miserable countries globally for 2025 are Venezuela, Sudan, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Eswatini, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, and Lebanon.
Venezuela, with a HAMI score of 556.4916 in 2025, topped the list as the world's most miserable economy. This is not only the highest record in the 2025 ranking but also a significant deterioration compared to its 6th place in 2024.
Hanke pointed out that the Maduro regime stole the July 2024 presidential election and suppressed democratic opposition by force, triggering a new wave of international sanctions, cutting off national oil revenues, and leading to a severe depreciation of the bolivar currency.
Data recently released by the Central Bank of Venezuela shows that consumer prices soared by 475.3% in 2025, making its inflation rate the highest in the world. At the same time, the unemployment rate climbed to 35.1%, reflecting the hollowing out of this once diversified economy. Venezuela's lending rate is 9.4%, and real GDP per capita shrank by 1.6%. All HAMI indicators are hitting Venezuelans hard.
Fortune magazine pointed out that the top ten happiest economies globally for 2025 are, in order, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Macau, Japan, Qatar, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau.
Taiwan ranked among the world's happiest economies for the second consecutive year, with a HAMI score of 2.1 points, the lowest in the 2025 ranking. A key factor is its real GDP per capita growth rate of 9.2%, benefiting from the huge global demand for Taiwan's semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. Taiwan's unemployment rate is only 3.3%, inflation rate is 1.3%, and bank lending rate is 3.3%.
Ireland's ranking jumped 54 places, from 121st in 2024 to 175th, becoming the 4th happiest economy globally and the second-largest improvement in ranking. Ireland's economic momentum comes from a stunning 11.2% growth in real GDP per capita, mainly benefiting from the activities of multinational corporations and Ireland's status as a hub for European technology and pharmaceutical companies. (Editor: Chang Hsiao-wen) 1150430
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(Central News Agency, Washington, April 29, comprehensive foreign report) The U.S. 'Fortune Magazine' this month released the 2025 Hanke's Annual Misery Index, with Venezuela ranking first among 178 countries as the world's most miserable economy. Taiwan, with a misery index of 2.1 points, was rated as the happiest economy globally for 2025.
Professor Steve Hanke, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, is known as the 'Money Doctor' due to his career as an economic advisor around the world. He uses readily available economic data to measure how 'miserable' or 'healthy' an economy is, much like taking a patient's temperature.
Hanke's Annual Misery Index (HAMI) is calculated by multiplying a country's year-end unemployment rate by 2, adding the inflation rate and bank lending rate, and then subtracting the annual growth rate of real GDP per capita. The median misery index for 2025 is 21.85, and the average is 31.64.
The top ten most miserable countries globally for 2025 are Venezuela, Sudan, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Eswatini, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, and Lebanon.
Venezuela, with a HAMI score of 556.4916 in 2025, topped the list as the world's most miserable economy. This is not only the highest record in the 2025 ranking but also a significant deterioration compared to its 6th place in 2024.
Hanke pointed out that the Maduro regime stole the July 2024 presidential election and suppressed democratic opposition by force, triggering a new wave of international sanctions, cutting off national oil revenues, and leading to a severe depreciation of the bolivar currency.
Data recently released by the Central Bank of Venezuela shows that consumer prices soared by 475.3% in 2025, making its inflation rate the highest in the world. At the same time, the unemployment rate climbed to 35.1%, reflecting the hollowing out of this once diversified economy. Venezuela's lending rate is 9.4%, and real GDP per capita shrank by 1.6%. All HAMI indicators are hitting Venezuelans hard.
Fortune magazine pointed out that the top ten happiest economies globally for 2025 are, in order, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Macau, Japan, Qatar, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau.
Taiwan ranked among the world's happiest economies for the second consecutive year, with a HAMI score of 2.1 points, the lowest in the 2025 ranking. A key factor is its real GDP per capita growth rate of 9.2%, benefiting from the huge global demand for Taiwan's semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. Taiwan's unemployment rate is only 3.3%, inflation rate is 1.3%, and bank lending rate is 3.3%.
Ireland's ranking jumped 54 places, from 121st in 2024 to 175th, becoming the 4th happiest economy globally and the second-largest improvement in ranking. Ireland's economic momentum comes from a stunning 11.2% growth in real GDP per capita, mainly benefiting from the activities of multinational corporations and Ireland's status as a hub for European technology and pharmaceutical companies. (Editor: Chang Hsiao-wen) 1150430
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.