TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - People of North Maluku are the happiest among Indonesians with 75.68 points in the happiness index, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports. The next happiest provinces in the happiness index are Maluku with 73.77 points and North Sulawesi with 73.69 points. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, only gets 71.33 points.
Out of 34 provinces across Indonesia, 24 provinces score above the national average for happiness level. Three provinces ranked the lowest in the happiness index are Papua with 67.52 points, Sumatra with 68.41 points and East Nusa Tenggara with 68.98 points.
The happiness index by region, according to BPS, is mainly influenced by personal life factors, namely education, work and income. Deputy for Social Statistic of BPS M. Sairi confirmed that Jakarta did not on the top of the list.
“In the city, most are more successful in personal dimension, personal achievements in education, health and employment,” he said yesterday. On the other hand, rural people have better social life.
On average, Sairi said that personal dimension and achievements are indeed dominant though vary among regions. “In North Maluku, the most prominent variables are social relationships, meaning of life, they believe that they are more valued than others, so the measurement is not always gross domestic product,” he said.
Sairi said that Indonesians in general score well in the happiness index. “Indonesians are happy and it’s not based on richness or poverty,” he said.
He pointed to the example of Yogyakarta. Despite having the highest number of poor people, the BPS says that the province score high in the happiness index. “That’s because their social relationships are good, they feel valued and they are proud of themselves for helping others.”
GHOIDA RAHMAH
