Hanke’s 2022 Misery Index

STEVE H. HANKE is a professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and a senior fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif

Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Tonga, and Ghana comprise the 15 most miserable countries in the world.

Zimbabwe takes this year’s prize as the most miserable country in the world.

HAMI = [(Unemployment (20%) * 2) + Inflation (243.8%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (131.8%)] − Real GDP Growth (0.9%) = 414.7

Venezuela

HAMI = [(Unemployment (33.5%) * 2) + Inflation (266.9%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (11.1%)] − Real GDP Growth (14.2%) = 330.8

Syria

HAMI = [(Unemployment (57%) * 2) + Inflation (94.9%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (14%)] − Real GDP Growth (-2.5%) = 225.4

Thanks to strong economic performances, Switzerland, Kuwait, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Niger, Thailand, Togo, and Malta were the top-ten “happiest” countries in 2022.  While the list of the top-ten might surprise some, good numbers are good numbers, at least for now.

Switzerland has the lowest HAMI score in the world

HAMI = [(Unemployment (2.166%) * 2) + Inflation (2.84%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (2.646%)] − Real GDP Growth (1.3%) = 8.518

Kuwait

HAMI = [(Unemployment (2.9%) * 2) + Inflation (3.1%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (4.2%)] − Real GDP Growth (4.5%) = 8.6

Ireland

HAMI = [(Unemployment (4.5%) * 2) + Inflation (8.302%) + Bank‐Lending Rate (2.7%)] − Real GDP Growth (11.4%) = 8.602

Israel (13) - 12.384
Norway (17) - 13.542
Denmark (21) - 15 785
Finland (49) - 21.629
Sweden (70) - 29.178

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/05/hankes-2022-misery-index/