President Prabowo Subianto said that Indonesia is the country with the happiest citizens in the world. The statement by Indonesia’s eighth president refers to the results of the Global Flourishing Study (Harvard University, Baylor, and Gallup 2025). Like most of us, Prabowo is confused about Indonesia’s status. However, we should also be critical about why this particular survey is being cited. After all, there are other surveys that are commonly referenced and more representative when it comes to assessing the happiness of people in countries around the world.
What is certain is that Prabowo’s statement has reignited the debate about state politics and its objectives. In the context of Indonesia’s declining democracy, Indonesia’s status as the happiest country leads to the conclusion that good politics has no impact on or connection to the happiness of its citizens.
This contradictory impression can actually be clarified by the Democracy Index released by The Economist and the World Happiness Report compiled by the United Nations. These two indices are often read separately. However, if we look more closely, they reveal an important relationship between democracy and happiness.
In line with this
Democracy is often assessed based on procedures and institutions: periodic elections, parliamentary dynamics, and respect for the constitution. However, behind these formal indicators, the long journey of democracy is sufficient to answer fundamental and human questions about politics that go hand in hand with happiness. It turns out that democracy is a clear choice that is in line with and has the same goal as happiness.
In the Democracy Index, countries in the full democracy category, such as the Nordic countries, consistently rank at the top. Interestingly, these same countries also dominate the World Happiness Report. Finland, Denmark, and Iceland are not only considered democratic, but have also repeatedly been named the happiest countries in the world.
Conversely, all countries classified as authoritarian regimes in the Democracy Index are also classified as unhappy countries in the Happiness Index. This correlation may lead to a quick conclusion: the more democratic a country is, the happier its citizens are. Of course, this needs to be accompanied by an awareness of the complexity and a number of aspects that require further explanation.
However, democracy essentially opens up space for participation, freedom of expression, and accountability mechanisms. These various aspects are linked to various aspects measured by the World Happiness Report, such as social security, trust between citizens, quality of public services, and a sense of security in daily life. Here, strong democracy finds its meaning for citizens.
Problems arise when democracy stops at procedures. Many countries are categorized as flawed democracies or even hybrid regimes by The Economist, including Indonesia in recent years. Elections continue to take place, but the quality of representation is questionable. Money politics, party oligarchy, and the weakening of supervisory institutions erode public trust.
In such situations, democracy is no longer perceived as a means of improving life, but merely as a political ritual. The World Happiness Report shows that unhappiness often correlates with low trust in institutions and political elites. When citizens feel that their voices have no influence, participation turns into fatigue, even cynicism.
Democracy that loses its social vitality will be easily attacked by narratives of stability in the style of authoritarianism. Order, economic growth, and policy certainty are promoted as substitutes for freedom and participation. In the short term, this narrative can seem attractive, especially in the midst of economic crisis or global uncertainty.
Illusions and Ethics
However, global experience shows that happiness without freedom is fragile. Countries with low democracy scores rarely remain at the top of happiness indices for long. Without civil liberties and mechanisms for correcting power, well-being becomes heavily dependent on elite stability and economic luck.
Jacob Potts, in “Democracy and Happiness: A True Correlation?” (2016), concludes that it is choice that makes people happy. Choice gives people the opportunity to do what they believe in and makes them happy. Democracy provides freedom of choice through representative procedural utility. People elect representatives who they believe best embody their beliefs, with the hope that the representatives’ actions in the political process will yield the best results for them. Conversely, this is not the case in illiberal democracies.
The World Happiness Report also emphasizes the importance of social trust as a key factor in happiness. This trust is difficult to foster in political systems that stifle criticism and limit participation. Democracy, despite being noisy and conflict-ridden, provides space to build trust through transparency and accountability.
If democracy is to remain relevant, it must be understood as more than just a system for electing leaders. Democracy should be an ethical project to improve the quality of life of citizens. A good democracy is not one that is silent in the face of criticism, but one that is most responsive to the needs of its citizens.
Linking the Democracy Index and the World Happiness Report provides an important lesson: political freedom needs to be supported by policies that make citizens happy. Happy democratic countries not only guarantee political rights, but also provide welfare. This takes the form of laws that guarantee rights and access to politics, education, health, and other areas.
For Indonesia, this lesson is relevant. The challenge for democracy going forward is not merely to maintain belief in democracy and its implementation procedures. The more concrete challenge for Indonesian democracy is to ensure that democracy works for the happiness of its citizens. Without this emphasis, democracy will continue to be perceived as a burden, not a hope.
Essentially, democracy does not promise instant happiness. It promises something more difficult but more dignified. Democracy guarantees the opportunity to strive for a better life. So, Prabowo Subianto or any other president, along with the people in a democratic country, should think again if the goal of citizen happiness is not accompanied by a guarantee of political freedom. []
USEP HASAN SADIKIN
Researcher at the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem)