Iraq, Iran Top World's Unhappiest Countries List

(Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

Do you live in one of the world's unhappiest places?

A new study released this week by Gallup cited Iran as the country with the highest negative emotions - a close second behind Iraq.

Just last month, six Iranians were arrested in the country for dancing to Pharrell's "Happy" in the country's capitol, Tehran. They have since been released.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his frustration over the arrests: "Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy," he tweeted.

Giving Iran a run for its money - at least as far as unhappiness is concerned - are these other countries:

  1. Iraq

  2. Iran

  3. Egypt

  4. Greece

  5. Syria

  6. Sierra Leone

  7. Cyprus

  8. Northern Cyprus

  9. Cambodia

  10. Lebanon

Here's how Gallup came up with the numbers.

Gallup measured negative emotions in 138 countries in 2013 by asking people whether they experienced a lot of anger, stress, sadness, physical pain and worry the previous day. Gallup compiles the "yes" results into a Negative Experience Index score for each country. The higher the score, the more pervasive negative emotions are in a country.

In another Gallup study ranking positive emotions, Paraguay ranks first in positive experiences, and Syria was the least likely country worldwide to report positive experiences. Iran came in 93 rd out of 138 countries surveyed. When asked in 2013 whether or not Iranians would recommend their city or area to live, 48 percent said they would not, according to the survey research organization.