The World’s Most Miserable Countries

With nearly 200 countries on our planet, there are plenty of places to travel, live, and work. The world is yours to explore, but there might be some places you want to avoid.

We found an interesting article on Business Insider that looks at a survey conducted by the Cato Institute called the Misery Index. It highlights the world’s most miserable countries.

The Misery Index ranks 108 countries based on factors like inflation, lending rates, unemployment rates, and GDP to determine the “misery” level. All statistics are taken from the Economist Intelligence Unit and used to create a list of the world’s most miserable countries. If you’re thinking about working abroad, this is a list you’ll probably want to check out.

Below you’ll find the name of the country, the misery index number (the higher the number the more miserable the place), and the major contributing factor to the country’s misery. Here are the 30 most miserable countries in the world:

1. Venezuela – 106.03 – Consumer Prices
2. Argentina – 68.00 – Consumer Prices
3. Syria – 63.90 – Unemployment
4. Ukraine – 51.80 – Unemployment
5. Iran – 49.10 – Unemployment
6. Brazil – 42.79 – Unemployment
7. Sao Tome and Principe – 42.06 – Interest Rates
8. Serbia – 40.32 – Unemployment
9. Jamaica – 39.85 – Interest Rates
10. South Africa – 39.16 – Unemployment
11. Sudan – 38.71 – Consumer Prices
12. Macedonia – 36.53 – Unemployment
13. Kyrgyzstan – 35.17 – Interest Rates
14. Belarus – 34.81 – Interest Rates
15. Armenia – 34.45 – Unemployment
16. Spain – 34.32 – Unemployment
17. Palestinian Territories – 33.50 – Unemployment
18. Egypt – 32.72 – Unemployment
19. Greece – 32.02 – Unemployment
20. Cyprus – 31.55 – Unemployment
21. Bosnia and Herzegovina – 31.22 – Unemployment
22. Turkey – 29.72 – Interest Rates
23. Mongolia – 29.25 – Interest Rates
24. Belize – 28.90 – Unemployment
25. Uruguay – 28.37 – Interest Rates
26. Honduras – 28.07 – Interest Rates
27. Dominican Republic – 27.98 – Interest Rates
28. Barbados – 27.83 – Unemployment
29. Paraguay – 27.01 – Interest Rates
30. Costa Rica – 26.87 – Interest Rates

Don’t see your country? Find the rest of the list here. On the flip side, the least miserable countries are:

• Brunei – 4.94 – Interest Rates
• Switzerland – 5.39 – Unemployment
• China – 5.68 – Interest Rates
• Taiwan – 5.91 – Unemployment
• Japan – 6.18 – Unemployment

The United States is the 14th least miserable country. Its misery index is 9.22 and its major contributing factor was unemployment.

Just because a country is miserable, it doesn’t mean that you should cross it off of your job search list. Whatever you do, only use this list as a starting point for your job search abroad. A sense of adventure in life can take you far.

Did you know that you can search jobs by country on the JobMonkey Job Board? Try it. It’s free.