DHAKA: Bangladesh is the happiest nation in the world, according to a recent study report of the World Happiness Survey. The United States, on the other hand, is a sad story, which has been ranked only 46th in the list of happiness.

India is the fifth happiest place in the world, with some other countries including Ghana and Latvia, Croatia and Estonia put in the same ranking. The study led by professors of London School of Economics on the link between personal spending power and the perceived quality of life conclusively proved that money can buy everything but happiness.

The study revealed that people in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, derive far more happiness from their small incomes than, for example, the British (32nd on the list) do from their relatively large bank balances.

In fact, people in most rich countries including Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and others are much unhappier than their poorer counterparts in countries like the Dominican Republic and Armenia. Most unfortunate, however, are Russians and people in some other parts of the former Soviet Union. They are neither rich nor happy, the World Happiness Survey shows.

Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria and Moldova follow the United States in the list. The study reveals that although the British have twice as much money to spend in real terms compared with 40 years ago, their perceived quality of life has not improved.

Earlier surveys revealed that many Britons thought money could bring happiness. The new study shows that such a link still exists in poor countries because a small increase in income can mean large improvement in lifestyle. However, beyond a certain income-level, direct relationship breaks down. According to the research, happiness in rich countries now is far more dependent on close personal relationships, good health and job satisfaction. People in Britain are generally less happy than they were 10 years ago. Two-thirds would rather see the environment improved than have more economic growth and personal spending money, said Robert Worcester, visiting professor of government at the LSE and co-author of the study.