Bhutan - The happiest country in the world with no smartphones, no cigarettes and no GDP

Bhutan is still a well-known country in the tourist world for its happiness index. Many visitors to this place admit that the people's lives are not well-off, but they are not bothered at all.

Country without smartphones

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small country located next to the Himalayas with about 72% of the area covered by forests. Bhutanese people always feel luckier than people of other countries because instead of being crowded in stuffy urban areas, they have time to rest and enjoy a clean life. This place only welcomes a certain number of international tourists into the country each year.

Besides, 2/3 of Bhutan's population has 8 hours of sleep per day and this is the standard for good health. What does it mean when you go to work to earn money only to end up using that money to treat yourself? Bhutan is aware of the importance of physical and mental health.

The State cares about the spiritual life and health of the people. Education and health are very well supported. That's why people live without worries. In addition, what makes visitors especially impressed is the simplicity, forgiving as well as sympathy of the locals. With the concept "We can't give what we don't have", with peace of mind and peace of mind, we can spread joy to those around us, as well as empathize and sympathize with them more. .

It is that generosity that is an expression of a "happy soul" and helps the people of Bhutan to spread happiness to everyone even though life is not easy. Another factor is that the Bhutanese are quite satisfied with what they have. The more people have, the more they fear losing, that's why many people are afraid of losing their property, losing their job, losing their reputation...

So what's wrong with being afraid of losing? Fear itself is a bad thing. How peace of mind if you always live in fear? So just enough. But how is enough, it depends on the value of each person.

While other countries prefer material riches, Bhutanese people think this easily makes people jealous of each other. In the West, people feel satisfied when they own trendy items, modern and expensive equipment. Whereas in Bhutan, they know how to balance property ownership with spiritual well-being. They don't even feel upset if they don't have a new iPhone in their hands. For the people here, living is the happiest thing.

In addition, the news on television is flooded with criminal cases, terrorism, war...which affects society. So instead of obsessing over the news posted on social networks or on television, they completely ignore these things. Popular smartphones in the world become "rare possessions" here.

Happiness replaces GDP

Bhutan is considered the "pure Buddhist kingdom" in the world. Most people here believe in the law of cause and effect. They believe that if they live well, the next life will receive perfect results. This motivates them to become useful people, doing many good deeds. In addition, most of the people living here are Buddhist and vegetarian. Therefore, cuisine in the kingdom is always focused, frugal and very healthy.

In Bhutan, the people are very friendly with each other, regardless of their background. This also reduces one's greed for "status" in society. If we treat each other with kindness and respect, do we need to be in status to be respected?

This closeness makes people love each other more. A prince can completely play ball with other ordinary students without discrimination. The monarchy no longer exists in Bhutan but the country's king and queen have always reigned in the hearts of the people.

Bhutan is also the first government in the world to ban the sale and smoking of cigarettes since 2004. Bhutanese people live in a clean air, the carbon dioxide index in the air reaches negative levels. The import of chemical fertilizers is completely banned in this country.

In Bhutan, the government developed a scientific measure, called "Gross National Happiness" or "National Happiness Index". This is a way for them to track people's satisfaction with their lives. The government in the kingdom has always been aware of how important it is to bring good and happiness to people. All basic expenses such as healthcare, education... are free in this country.

Even Bhutan has established a Ministry of Happiness because they do not measure the quality of life by the economy, but use the happiness index as the basis for all. Of course, to get happiness, the economy also plays an important part. Bhutan quickly became rich by allowing India to invest in hydroelectricity. The country's GDP has grown steadily over the past few years.

They argue that rational resource exploitation is the one thing that makes everything happy. This way helps people here do not have to work much but still get the worthy results. In addition to Mathematics and Science, children in Bhutan are taught how to protect the environment and basic agricultural techniques. People here think that children need to have knowledge about the environment like getting good grades.

Conservation of nature becomes one of the important things of the "Happiness Index" here. Half of their country is a national park, people feel happy living in such conditions. A clean living environment is a condition for the Bhutanese to develop their spiritual life.

Recently, Bhutan surprised the world by immunizing more than 50% of the population in a week with only 37 doctors. It is known that about 62% of the population has been vaccinated in less than a week, creating a surprise for the media. Of course, the small population is also a factor that helps people here complete vaccinations more quickly than other countries. However, the people's awareness as well as the government's efforts also contribute greatly to this speed.

Bhutan is economically underdeveloped with only 37 doctors and nearly 3,000 medical professionals across the country. Not to mention the poor infrastructure that makes it extremely difficult to move and vaccinate between villages and residential areas. However, with the efforts of the government and the medical team, they climbed the mountain pass and waded the stream continuously for many days to try to vaccinate as quickly as possible. While the experts arrived at the vaccination gathering point, the government mobilized a helicopter to transport the vaccine to meet the schedule.

Since detecting the first infection of an American tourist in March 2020, Bhutan has closed its borders until now, and strictly quarantined residents returning from abroad. Up to now, Bhutan has only 886 infections and 1 death.

"Since the beginning, we have attached great importance to the fight against the epidemic when the health of the people is the top concern of the Bhutanese government," emphasized former Bhutanese ambassador Lhatu Wangchuk to the United Nations Council.

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