The Nordic countries have secured the top spots in the World Happiness Report published by Canadian economist John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey Sachs, Jan Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin, & Shun Wang. In the report, published on Wednesday, India ranked 126, the same as last year.
In the annual UN-sponsored report, Nordic countries kept their places among the 10 most cheerful, with Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel securing the top 5 spots. Afghanistan, plagued by a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban gained control over it in 2020, stayed at the bottom of the 143 countries surveyed.
Meanwhile, for the first time, since the report was published more than a decade ago, the United States and Germany did not find a place among the list of 20 happiest nations. The US trailed at the 23rd spot, while Germany at the 24th spot respectively.
Countries such as Costa Rica and Kuwait entered the top 20 list with Costa Rica securing the 12th and Kuwait, the 13th spots respectively.
The sharpest decline in happiness since 2006-10 was noted in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan, while the Eastern European countries Serbia, Bulgaria and Latvia reported the biggest increases.
{{/usCountry}}The sharpest decline in happiness since 2006-10 was noted in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan, while the Eastern European countries Serbia, Bulgaria and Latvia reported the biggest increases.
{{/usCountry}}The ranking is determined by individuals' own assessment of their life satisfaction, alongside factors such as GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and levels of corruption.
Here's a list of 10 happiest countries in the world:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
According to Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, the Finnish people's strong bond with nature and well-maintained work-life balance significantly influence their life satisfaction.
Moreover, De Paola suggested that Finnish people potentially hold a more realistic perception of what constitutes a successful life, unlike in countries like the United States, where success is frequently linked with financial prosperity.
Additionally, the robust welfare system, trust in governmental institutions, minimal corruption levels, and accessibility to free healthcare and education are fundamental factors contributing to Finland's overall happiness.
The latest report also discovered that younger generations generally report higher levels of happiness compared to older age groups across most regions worldwide, although there are exceptions.
In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, happiness among individuals under 30 significantly declined in the period from 2006-2010, leading to a situation where older generations now tend to report higher levels of happiness than the younger ones.
Conversely, in Central and Eastern Europe, there was a significant rise in happiness across all age groups during the same period. Meanwhile, in Western Europe, individuals of all ages reported comparable levels of happiness.
(With AFP inputs)