Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the 6th year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report.
The secret to Finnish happiness has been debated worldwide ever since Finland was first nominated for the prestigious title. Finns themselves believe that the key to their happiness is found in four elements: nature, lifestyle, food and sustainability.
Denmark, Iceland, and Israel followed Finland as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th happiest countries of the world.
The World Happiness Report research leverages six key factors to help explain variation in self-reported levels of happiness across the world: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Governments are increasingly using this analysis to orient policies towards happiness.
“The ultimate goal of politics and ethics should be human well-being,” said Jeffrey D. Sachs, University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.
“The happiness movement shows that well-being is not a ‘soft’ and ‘vague’ idea but rather focuses on areas of life of critical importance: material conditions, mental and physical wealth, personal virtues, and good citizenship. We need to turn this wisdom into practical results to achieve more peace, prosperity, trust, civility – and yes, happiness – in our societies.”
Lithuania is the only new country in the top twenty, up more than 30 places since 2017.
India ranked 126 in the list of 137 countries.
War-torn Afghanistan and Lebanon remain the two unhappiest countries in the survey, with average life evaluations more than five points lower (on a scale running from 0 to 10) than in the ten happiest countries.
