( 123 RF ) South Korea ranked 33 rd out of 34 countries surveyed on national happiness , despite improvements in welfare , a study showed Wednesday . According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs , South Korea saw its happiness ranking drop by three notches over the past five years from 2011 to 2016 . In terms of well - being , the country ranked 21 st , two steps up from 2011 . The study was based on a comparative analysis of 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on five areas -- economic vitality , fiscal sustainability , welfare needs , welfare fulfillment and national happiness . The yardstick also included 23 indicators . South Koreans ’ satisfaction with life came in 27 th , in line with national transparency . Suicide and fertility rates , an annual challenge for the nation , remained at the bottom . Availability of personal time ranked 25 th , while life expectancy ranked 10 th . Economic vitality , which is measured by looking at per capita gross domestic product , labor productivity and economic growth , dropped from sixth to eighth . Fiscal sustainability , a scale for national debt level and public financial burdens , stayed fixed at third . Welfare needs , which contributes to the Gini Coefficient , income distribution and economic misery , placed 10 th , up from 12 th . Contentment over the income replacement ratio of public pension and unemployment benefits , along with the welfare system such as social expenditure , soared to 28 th from 32 nd . “ From the economic perspective , the indices for economic vitality , fiscal sustainability and welfare fulfillment are improving , but national happiness has dropped . The level of welfare that people can actually feel won ’ t have changed much , ” the report said . By Jung Min - kyung ( mkjung @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 코리아 헤럴드 ] [ K - POP HERALD ] [ 페이스북 ] <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >