21/03/2024
For the seventh consecutive year, Finland retained its position as the happiest country in the world, according to the latest World Happiness.
Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden also maintained their spots among the top 10 happiest nations, with Finland leading the pack.
Afghanistan, which has been grappling with a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban's resurgence in 2020, remained at the bottom of the list among the 143 countries surveyed.
The United States and Germany, although not in the top 20 happiest countries, secured the 23rd and 24th positions, respectively.
On the other hand, Costa Rica and Kuwait broke into the top 20, ranking 12th and 13th, respectively.
Interestingly, none of the world's largest countries were included in the happiest countries' list. "Only the Netherlands and Australia, out of the top 10, have populations exceeding 15 million. Among the top 20, only Canada and the UK have populations exceeding 30 million," the report highlighted.
The report also highlighted significant shifts in happiness levels since 2006-10, with Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Jordan experiencing substantial declines, while Eastern European nations such as Serbia, Bulgaria, and Latvia reported significant increases.
The happiness rankings are based on individuals' self-assessed life satisfaction, alongside factors like GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption levels.