World: It is well said that a country grows if its’ citizens are happy and have a good standard of living. Being happy in today’s world has now become the “toughest” thing. A quote very well defines – “In a democracy, the well-being, individuality, and happiness of each citizen is important for the overall prosperity, peace and happiness of the nation“.
The United Nations on Friday released this years’ World Happiness Report, in which, for the 5th consecutive time, Finland has bagged the first position with a mark of 7.8. The report is issued by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network of the United Nations.
The agency noted a total of 156 countries were assessed under some of the factors or parameters, which plays a significant role related to happiness. These factors include – personal sense of well-being, life expectancy, GDP level etc. Countries are granted marks out of 10.
Following are the TOP 20 happiest countries as per the UN’s report –
- Finland scored 7.821/10
- Denmark scored 7.636/10
- Iceland scored 7.557/10
- Switzerland scored 7.512/10
- The Netherlands scored 7.415/10
- Luxembourg scored 7.404/10
- Sweden scored 7.384/10
- Norway scored 7.365/10
- Israel scored 7.364/10
- New Zealand scored 7.200/10
- Austria scored 7.163/10
- Australia scored 7.162/10
- Ireland scored 7.041/10
- Germany scored 7.034/10
- Canada scored 7.025/10
- The United States of America scored 6.977/10
- The United Kingdom scored 6.943/10
- Czechia scored 6.920/10
- Belgium scored 6.805/10
- France scored 6.687/10
There are numerous countries that have managed to improve their rankings, such as – India and France. For the first time, France made it to the Top 20 countries, bagging 20th position in the happiness ranking.
On the other hand, Austria slipped from the Top 10 countries, getting to the rank of eleven in the report. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is the “unhappiest” country, followed by – Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana in a respective manner.
The ongoing year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report.