Southerners now the happiest of Thais
The ongoing flood crisis has caused people's happiness to drop to its lowest level in 10 months, while southerners now rank as the happiest of Thais, according to a survey by Abac Poll.
The poll found that the national Gross Domestic Happiness Index dropped from 6.3 in September to 4.8 in October, said Noppadol Kannika, director of the poll centre. The poll, conducted from October 29 to November 4, surveyed 4,520 Thais and 431 foreign residents aged over 18 in 21 provinces. The main causes of unhappiness were damage to homes and property caused by floods, followed by economic problems caused by rising prices of consumer products and a drop in income. The uncertain state of politics was also a reason for the happiness level dropping. "Southern people, who used to have the least happiness, emerged the happiest people in the latest survey," he said. "They were followed by people in the Central region, the Northeast, the North and Bangkok." The Northeast region used to top previous happiness surveys. The poll also found that while only 17 per cent of the respondents said they lived according to sufficiency economy principles, this group was three times happier than those who did not. Noppadol said the Happiness Index of foreigners living in the country had also dropped, from 7.23 in September to 6.79 in October, mainly due to the floods.
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