The list of world's most miserable countries

Graphic by Nilanjana Gupta/Khaleej Times

The CATO institute has released the list of the world's most miserable countries based on world misery index scores. The index analyses 108 countries and it is based on consumer prices, joblessness and lending rates.

Through a simple sum of the former inflation, unemployment and lending rates, minus year-on-year per capita GDP growth, a misery index was constructed.

According to the list, the five most miserable countries in the world at the end of 2014 are, in order: Venezuela, Argentina, Syria, Ukraine, and Iran. In 2014, Argentina and Ukraine moved into the top five, displacing Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe.

The five least miserable are Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan.

UAE does not feature in the list. Among GCC countries, Saudi Arabia tops the list with rank 47.

Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait take the 82nd, 91st and 92nd place, respectively.

Below are the index scores for the countries in 2014. Countries not included in the table did not report satisfactory data for 2014.

The data was sourced from the World Bank, Economic Intelligence Unit, International Monetary Fund and the National Bureau of Labour Statistics.