Finland has once again been named the happiest country in the world, according to the annual World Happiness Report. The country has topped the rankings for six consecutive years, scoring high in factors such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and low corruption.
The report, which is a publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, is based on global survey data from people in over 150 countries. This year’s list features many of the Nordic countries in top spots, with Denmark and Iceland ranking second and third respectively.
The authors of the report noted that the Nordic countries had generally high levels of personal and institutional trust and had lower COVID-19 death rates compared to the rest of Western Europe.
Interestingly, despite the difficulties of the past year, positive emotions have remained twice as prevalent as negative ones, and feelings of positive social support twice as strong as those of loneliness.
India, a fast-growing economy, was ranked 126th in the report, placing it below Nepal, China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The rankings of both Russia and Ukraine dropped due to the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
The World Happiness Report serves as a reminder of the importance of factors beyond economic growth in achieving overall well-being and happiness.
