The world’s happiest country has been revealed but it’s not good news for the UK which falls to its lowest spot since 2017.
Finland takes the top spot once again for the eighth successive year in a row in the latest World Happiness Report.
Nordic countries dominate the top of the list with Denmark in second, Iceland in third and Sweden in fourth.
The UK lands in 23rd position while the USA falls to its lowest ever position in 24th place. Both countries land behind Israel (8th) despite the ongoing conflict in the region.
Afghanistan is once against the unhappiest happiest country in the world with Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Malawi and Zimbabwe rounding off the bottom five.
The report, published by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the WHR’s Editorial Board, asks people around the globe to rate their lives to find the world’s happiest country.
Rankings are then based on a three-year average of each population’s average assessment of their quality of life.
The report finds that sharing meals with other people is strongly linked to wellbeing across all global regions. In the USA, the number of people dining alone has increased by 53 per cent over the past two decades.
Finland takes the top spot once again for the eighth successive year in a row in the latest World Happiness Report
The report finds that sharing meals with other people is strongly linked to wellbeing across all global regions
Household size also has a big impact on happiness, with the happiest households those that had four or five people living together. In Europe, many people are living on their own, which could impact happiness levels.
The number of young adults who say they have no one they can count on for social support has also increased by 39 per cent since 2006.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, professor of economics at the University of Oxford, and an editor of the World Happiness Report, says: ‘This year’s report pushes us to look beyond traditional determinants like health and wealth.
‘It turns out that sharing meals and trusting others are even stronger predictors of wellbeing than expected.
‘In this era of social isolation and political polarisation we need to find ways to bring people around the table again — doing so is critical for our individual and collective wellbeing.’
Believing that other people will ‘return your lost wallet is a strong predictor of local happiness’, according to the report’s results.
The Nordic countries rank among the top places for expected and actual return of wallets, which goes some way to explaining their position at the top of the table.
But the report finds that the majority of people around the globe are ‘much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality’ as ‘actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect’.
The Nordic countries rank among the top places for expected and actual return of wallets, which goes some way to explaining their position at the top of the table. Pictured above is Finland
WORLD’S HAPPIEST COUNTRIES
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Netherlands
6. Costa Rica
7. Norway
8. Israel
9. Luxembourg
10. Mexico
11. Australia
12. New Zealand
13. Switzerland
14. Belgium
15. Ireland
16. Lithuania
17. Austria
18. Canada
19. Slovenia
20. Czechia
21. UAE
22. Germany
23. UK
24. USA
25. Belize
26. Poland
27. Taiwan
28. Uruguay
29. Kosovo
30. Kuwait
31. Serbia
32. Saudi Arabia
33. France
34. Singapore
35. Romania
36. Brazil
37. El Salvador
38. Spain
39. Estonia
40. Italy
41. Panama
42. Argentina
43. Kazakhstan
44. Guatemala
45. Chile
46. Vietnam
47. Nicaragua
48. Malta
49. Thailand
50. Slovakia
51. Latvia
52. Oman
53. Uzbekistan
54. Paraguay
55. Japan
56. Bosnia and Herzegovina
57. Phillippines
58. Republic of Korea
59. Bahrain
60. Portugal
61. Colombia
62. Ecuador
63. Honduras
64. Malaysia
65. Peru
66. Russian Federation
67. Cyprus
68. China
69. Hungary
70. Trinidad and Tobago
71. Montenegro
72. Croatia
73. Jamaica
74. Bolivia
75. Kyrgyzstan
76. Dominican Republic
77. Mongolia
78. Mauritius
79. Libya
80. Republic of Moldova
81. Greece
82. Venezuela
83. Indonesia
84. Algeria
85. Bulgaria
86. North Macedonia
87. Armenia
88. Hong Kong
89. Albania
90. Tajikistan
91. Georgia
92. Nepal
93. Lao PDR
94. Turkiye
95. South Africa
96. Mozambique
97. Gabon
98. Cote d’Ivoire
99. Iran
100. Congo
101. Iraq
102. Guinea
103. Namibia
104. Cameroon
105. Nigeria
106. Azerbaijan
107. Senegal
108. State of Palestine
109. Pakistan
110. Niger
111. Ukraine
112. Morocco
113. Tunisia
114. Mauritania
115. Kenya
116. Uganda
117. Gambia
118. India
119. Chad
120. Burkina Faso
121. Benin
122. Somalia
123. Mali
124. Cambodia
125. Ghana
126. Myanmar
127. Togo
128. Jordan
129. Liberia
130. Madagascar
131. Zambia
132. Ethiopia
133. Sri Lanka
134. Bangladesh
135. Egypt
136. Tanzania
137. Eswatini
138. Lesotho
139. Comoros
140. Yemen
141. DR Congo
142. Botswana
143. Zimbabwe
144. Malawi
145. Lebanon
146. Sierra Leone
147. Afghanistan
Source: World Happiness Report
Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, says: ‘Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back.
‘This year’s report proves we underestimate how kind the world really is. If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.’
Serbia (31st) , Bulgaria (85th) and Georgia (91st) have seen the biggest rises in happiness since the first ever World Happiness Report in 2012.
Costa Rica (6th) and Mexico (10th) also both enter the top 10 for the first time.
Share or comment on this article:
The world’s happiest country revealed – but the USA and UK both fall down the rankings
Source link
CHECK OUT: Top Travel Destinations
READ MORE: Travel News
