The United Arab Emirates is the happiest Muslim country in the world, according to a report by the United Nations.
The UAE was ranked 21st in the list of happiest countries in the world which were dominated by Northern European countries, with Norway coming top.
After the UAE the next nine happiest Muslim countries were Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
The UAE is a federal absolute monarchy. It’s population is 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.
The country is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on December 2, 1971. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain.
The UAE’s oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the world’s seventeenth-largest. Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAE’s economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city and an international aviation hub. Nevertheless, the country remains principally reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas.
The countries were all ranked according to the following criteria: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.
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The ten least happy Muslim countries (in descending order) were Albania, Iraq, Mauritania, Mali, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.
