United Nations, Mar 20: Indians are not as happy in 2019 as they were in 2018 and the country figures at 140th place, seven spots down from last year, this year's UN World Happiness Report released Wednesday which is topped by Finland for the second year in a row.

The report was released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on March 20 which has been declared as World Happiness Day by the UN General Assembly in 2012.

The report ranks countries on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.

According to the report, the overall world happiness has fallen over the past few years, which has mostly been fuelled by a sustained drop in India, which came in 140th place this year compared with 133rd place in 2018.

The UN's seventh annual World Happiness Report, which ranks the world's 156 countries on "how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be", also noted that there has been an increase in negative emotions, including worry, sadness and anger.

Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the second year in succession. The Nordic nation is followed by Denmark, Norway, Iceland and The Netherlands.

Pakistan is ranked 67th, Bangladesh 125th and China is place at 93rd, according to the report.

People in war-torn South Sudan are the most unhappy with their lives, followed by Central African Republic (155), Afghanistan (154), Tanzania (153) and Rwanda (152).

The happiness study ranks the countries of the world on the basis of questions from the Gallup World Poll. The results are then correlated with other factors, including GDP and social security.

The United States ranks at 19th place for happiness, despite being one of the richest countries in the world.

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New Delhi (PTI): Former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu was sworn in as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Delhi in a ceremony held at Lok Niwas on Wednesday.

Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sandhu in the presence of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other dignitaries.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Sandhu described Delhi as his 'Karmbhumi', noting that he attended college and university in the city before serving here as a foreign service officer.

"There are many stakeholders and its duty of all of us to work together for development of Delhi," he said.

He added that while the problems facing the capital are well known, there are no automatic solutions and all stakeholders will have to work together to address them.

The new Lieutenant Governor paid his tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and offered prayers at the Rakabganj Gurudwara and Prachin Hanuman temple in Connaught Place. He succeeds Vinai Kumar Saxena, who has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.

A 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Sandhu was one of the most experienced Indian diplomats on United States affairs. He served in the Indian Mission in Washington, D.C., multiple times and was India's ambassador to the United States from February 2020 to January 2024.

The 63-year-old former diplomat had also been at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations from July 2005 to February 2009.

He unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 on the BJP ticket from the Amritsar constituency in Punjab.