TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan retained its title as the world's happiest economy for the second-straight year on Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI) for 2025, published by Fortune.
Steve H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, compiled the 178 most and least miserable economies by adding year-end unemployment, inflation, and bank lending rates, and subtracting the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita, per Fortune.
The index intentionally double-counts the impact of rising prices by counting inflation and bank lending rates, while also doubling the unemployment data to calculate the “misery” felt by the populace.
Venezuela was the world's most miserable country, with a HAMI score of 556.5, driven by international sanctions, 475.3% inflation, 35.1% unemployment, a 9.4% lending rate, and a 1.6% drop in real GDP per capita. The remaining 10 most miserable countries, were Sudan in second place, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Eswatini, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, and Lebanon.
The 10 happiest countries were Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Ireland, Cote d’Ivoire, Macau, Japan, Qatar, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau. Taiwan kept its ranking as the world's happiest economy with a HAMI score of 2.1.
Hanke said the “secret ingredient” was real GDP growth of 9.2% per capita, fueled by “an insatiable global demand for Taiwan’s semiconductors and artificial intelligence hardware.” He also noted that unemployment remains low at 3.3%, inflation is tempered at 1.3%, and the bank-lending rate stands at 3.3%.
“Geopolitical threats from China notwithstanding, Taiwan’s economy in 2025 is firing on all cylinders,” added Hanke.
