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For the seventh consecutive year, Finland maintained its position as the happiest country in the world, while the United States and Germany fell out of the top 20, according to a yearly index sponsored by the UN.
On Wednesday, the latest World Happiness Report was released, including new separate rankings for age groups. It reveals low levels of happiness among young people in certain regions of the world.
The youth in North America were less content compared to the older generation, contributing to the United States falling out of the top 20 rankings for the first time since the report began in 2012.
On the other hand, the happiness score of the US and other countries declined in comparison to other nations, with many countries in Eastern Europe experiencing growth on the happiness scale.
On 20 March, the United Nations released a report using survey data from over 140 countries to rank them based on happiness. Their ranking is determined by their average life evaluations from 2021 to 2023.
Afghanistan stayed as the world’s lowest-ranked country for happiness at 143. Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Congo were also ranked at the bottom.
The study examines six main factors to rate overall happiness: economic growth per person, social assistance, length of healthy life, liberty, generosity, and perception of corruption.
Finland, along with its fellow Nordic countries, is among the top ranked nations, with Denmark at 2nd place, Iceland at 3rd, and Norway at 7th.
All of Finland’s Nordic counterparts are also highly ranked.
Israel is surprisingly at 5, amid its ongoing war on Hamas in Gaza. However, the authors do point out that the three-year average of the rankings often mutes the effect of “cataclysmic events happening during a particular year”.
The study, carried out in Gaza and the West Bank before 7 October, ranks the happiness level of Palestinians at 103.
The top 10 is completed by the Netherlands holding the 6th spot, Luxembourg in 8th place, Switzerland in 9th place, and Australia securing the 10th position.
The United States and Germany, ranked 23rd and 24th respectively, have fallen out of the top 20 due to an increase in happiness ratings in nations such as Czechia (18th), Lithuania (19th), and Slovenia (21st). The United Kingdom currently ranks at 20th.
Costa Rica and Kuwait both moved up in the rankings, placing 12th and 13th in the top 20. India remained in the same position as last year, ranking 126th in the happiness index.
According to the report, younger individuals were generally more content than older individuals in many nations. However, in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, happiness among those under 30 significantly declined from 2006-10, with older individuals now reporting higher levels of happiness. In Central and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, happiness increased across all age groups during the same time frame.
Source: independent.co.uk
