Finland, has again ranked the happiest country in the world. This is the fourth time in a row that the Nordic country will clinch the top spot according to the annual list powered by data from the Gallup World Poll, with Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands following in second, third, fourth and fifth position respectively.
The United States moved up from 18th to 14th place and the United Kingdom dropped from 13th to 18th, Australia held its 12th place position.
“We need urgently to learn from Covid-19,” said report co-editor Jeffrey Sachs, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. “The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, The World Happiness Report has been collated slightly differently this time around.
Criteria for picking the winner,,,,
According to CNN, the winner is picked based on levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption income since it launched in 2012. Finnish citizens have trust in the government. The trust and confidence is what made Finland to be among the few countries that have managed the pandemic relatively well.
Although there have been some changes in the top 10, with Iceland rising two places from fourth to second on the list and Norway dropping from fifth to eighth place, the rankings were strikingly similar to the previous year for the most part, which is viewed as a positive sign.
“Surprisingly there was not, on average, a decline in wellbeing when measured by people’s own evaluation of their lives,” said the University of British Columbia’s professor John Helliwell, who also contributed to the report.
“One possible explanation is that people see Covid-19 as a common, outside threat affecting everybody and that this has generated a greater sense of solidarity and fellow-feeling.”
Other notable movements on the list include Germany, which has jumped from 17th to seventh place in the last year.
Croatia, which was among the destinations where face-to-face interviews were able to take place, rose from number 79 to 23 on the list.
Researchers say it’s no surprise that Finland has retained the top position once again, as the Nordic country has always ranked highly when it comes to mutual trust.
Of the 149 countries featured on the report, Afghanistan was ranked the most unhappy once again, followed by Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana.
