{"id":16093,"date":"2025-03-19T01:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T22:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/mena\/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a9-%d9%84%d8%a7-%d8%aa%d9%8f%d8%b4%d8%aa%d9%8e%d8%b1%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%84-%d8%aa%d9%8f%d8%b5%d9%86%d9%8e%d8%b9-%d9%85%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%8a-%d9%8a%d8%ac\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T11:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T08:30:34","slug":"happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/mena\/en\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\/","title":{"rendered":"Happiness Isn\u2019t Bought\u2014It\u2019s Nurtured: What Truly Makes MENA Happier?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16084\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit-510x338.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Why Wealth Alone Fails to Measure a Nation\u2019s True Happiness&nbsp;<br>Don\u2019t Worry, Be Happy! \u2013 But Are We Happy?<br>We\u2019ve all heard Bobby McFerrin\u2019s iconic 1988 song, but its message hits deeper when life gets tough. On this World Happiness Day, let\u2019s explore what truly makes our communities thrive.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<p><strong>GDP Alone Doesn\u2019t Guarantee Happiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>For years, governments measured their success by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP quantifies the total financial worth of all goods and services generated within a nation. While GDP was solely intended to serve as an indicator of economic scale, it became universally equated with societal progress and wellbeing, with the underlying assumption that a higher GDP equals a better quality of life. However, economic growth doesn\u2019t always translate to happiness.<\/p>\n\n<p>True progress goes beyond GDP\u2014it lies in the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing that genuinely shapes people\u2019s lives and the country\u2019s policies prioritizing human dignity, environmental resilience, and equitable opportunity. In fact, since the 1970s, many voices across policy and academic fields have highlighted the limits of a growth-focused economic model, warning that the obsession with GDP growth is neither desirable nor achievable as it does not take into account our planetary boundaries and finite resources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Real happiness thrives when people and the planet are in balance. It is time to challenge the myth that GDP defines our wellbeing, and instead, let\u2019s ask: What truly makes us happy?<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>How Far Do Economic Policies Define Happiness in the MENA Region<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The MENA region\u2019s happiness rankings defy simplistic GDP correlations. While some nations leverage wealth to foster thriving societies, others prove that even abundant resources fall short without intentional policies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/worldhappiness.report\/ed\/2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The 2024 World Happiness Report<\/a> shows that happiness isn\u2019t just a mood or isn\u2019t based on wealth alone\u2014it\u2019s shaped by government policies and prerequisites such as feeling supported, financial stability, and having the freedom to make life choices. When it comes to the Middle East and North Africa, the picture is far from uniform. According to the report, the UAE tops the region, ranking 21st globally, followed by Algeria, placed 74<sup>th<\/sup>, Iraq, 105<sup>th<\/sup>; Tunisia, 115<sup>th<\/sup>, Egypt, 127<sup>th<\/sup>, Lebanon, 142<sup>nd,<\/sup> and finally, Yemen, 140<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n<p>Despite Saudi Arabia having a higher GDP than the UAE, Saudi Arabia lags behind the UAE in the happiness ranking, with the former ranking 32nd while the latter ranks 21st. This proves that happiness is not just about money. The UAE has placed increasing emphasis on sustainability and wellbeing, as evidenced by initiatives such as the UAE National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, the National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing, and the establishment in 2016 of the position of Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing, the first ministerial position of its kind globally. These top-down governmental and policy efforts aim to position the country at the forefront of quality of life and wellbeing practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>This is not to say that economic stability is irrelevant, as evidenced by countries like Lebanon and Yemen, which face steep declines in happiness driven by political and economic turmoil. The diverse happiness levels across the MENA region reflect the complex interplay of socio-economic and political factors shaping daily life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Beyond MENA countries&#8217; national rankings, the 2024 World Happiness Report also reveals a concerning global trend: Happiness inequality is on the rise. Over the past 12 years, disparities in wellbeing have increased by more than 20%, not only between regions but also across different age groups. In the Middle East and North Africa, these challenges are felt deeply, shaping the wellbeing of individuals in distinct ways.<\/p>\n\n<p>It\u2019s clear: Happiness isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all concept, especially in a region as diverse and dynamic as MENA.<\/p>\n\n<p>This World Happiness Day, let\u2019s remember:&nbsp; GDP may fund progress, but only intentional policies centered on equity, security, and dignity turn wealth into wellbeing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout  \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/eu1.hubs.ly\/H0hyGwC0\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1-1024x682.png\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1-510x340.png 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/254f7226-we-1.png 1100w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"\" title=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/eu1.hubs.ly\/H0hyGwC0\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJoin us and demand a better and happier future by signing the petition:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/eu1.hubs.ly\/H0hyGwC0\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        LET\u2019S RETHINK THE FUTURE\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While GDP was solely intended to serve as an indicator of economic scale, it became universally equated with societal progress and wellbeing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":16085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"Wellbeing Economy ","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"Good Life","p4_department":"MENA","footnotes":""},"categories":[300],"tags":[71,101],"p4-page-type":[290],"class_list":["post-16093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag--en","tag-greenpeace","p4-page-type-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Happiness Isn\u2019t Bought\u2014It\u2019s Nurtured: What Truly Makes MENA Happier? - Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/mena\/en\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Happiness Isn\u2019t Bought\u2014It\u2019s Nurtured: What Truly Makes MENA Happier?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While GDP was solely intended to serve as an indicator of economic scale, it became universally equated with societal progress and wellbeing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/mena\/en\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GreenpeaceAR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-18T22:15:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-08T08:30:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-mena-stateless\/2025\/03\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fadi Gedeon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GreenpeaceAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GreenpeaceAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fadi Gedeon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fadi Gedeon\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/ar\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7dad2b1d8fa7b629f7f0f6db1f2cde3e\"},\"headline\":\"Happiness Isn\u2019t Bought\u2014It\u2019s Nurtured: What Truly Makes MENA Happier?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-18T22:15:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-08T08:30:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":656,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-mena-stateless\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/c5800ecd-cheerful-old-male-arab-smiling-with-yellow-dates-palm-fruit.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Urban\",\"Greenpeace\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/mena\\\/en\\\/happiness-isnt-boughtits-nurtured-what-truly-makes-mena-happier\\\/\",\"name\":\"Happiness Isn\u2019t Bought\u2014It\u2019s Nurtured: What Truly Makes MENA Happier? 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More than nine years have passed since I joined the team at Greenpeace, and it seems like just yesterday! I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that our team is special, in how we work together, how we relate to each other, how we resolve our differences and even how we express our frustration. It has always been great to end the day with an outing with the team, or a heated debate about current events. A week in the office was never complete without some kind of activity that brought us together as people, celebrating our passion for life, hobbies and interests, and - I must admit, several practical jokes! Moving our work online has definitely had an impact on our relationships with colleagues, volunteers, and external partners Somehow it feels like we\u2019ve been invited to become part of each other\u2019s lives at home: parents, partners, children and pets have now become regular guests on our video calls. 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More than nine years have passed since I joined the team at Greenpeace, and it seems like just yesterday! I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that our team is special, in how we work together, how we relate to each other, how we resolve our differences and even how we express our frustration. It has always been great to end the day with an outing with the team, or a heated debate about current events. A week in the office was never complete without some kind of activity that brought us together as people, celebrating our passion for life, hobbies and interests, and - I must admit, several practical jokes! Moving our work online has definitely had an impact on our relationships with colleagues, volunteers, and external partners Somehow it feels like we\u2019ve been invited to become part of each other\u2019s lives at home: parents, partners, children and pets have now become regular guests on our video calls. I\u2019m proud to be working with a team that appreciates all its members in all the colour and diversity they bring to the table! 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