Finland has cemented its place as the happiest country in the world, taking the title for the seventh year in a row, according to a UN-sponsored report released on Wednesday. Switzerland falls to ninth place.
The Nordic countries top the top ten places, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden following Finland. Eighth in 2023, Switzerland saw its happiness index drop, going from 7,240 to 7,060 in one year, and demoting it to ninth position.
Switzerland ninth in the ranking of the happiest countries in the world / 12:30 p.m. / 1 min. / yesterday at 12:35
At the other end of the ranking, Afghanistan, in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban’s return to power in 2020, occupies last place of the 143 countries.
Most populous countries lower in the ranking
For the first time in more than 10 years, the United States of America and Germany did not appear among the 20 happiest nations, coming in 23rd and 24th places. France is in 27th place.
None of the world‘s most populous countries make the top twenty. “Among the top ten, only the Netherlands [6es] and Australia [10e] have more than 15 million inhabitants. Within the top twenty, only Canada [15e] and the United Kingdom [20e] have more than 30 million inhabitants,” according to the report.
Income, health, freedom
The biggest declines in the happiness index since the period 2006-2010 concern Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan while Serbia, Bulgaria and Latvia show the strongest increases.
The World Happiness Report is a measure of happiness published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network every year since 2012. It is based on people’s assessment of their happiness, as well as on economic and social data.
The report takes into account six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.
Nature, balance and confidence
Proximity to nature and a good work-life balance are the key to Finnish satisfaction, explains Jennifer De Paola, a researcher specializing in this topic at the University of Helsinki.
Finns may have a “more accessible understanding of what a successful life is”, compared for example to the United States where success is often associated with financial gains, she adds.
Trust in institutions, low corruption and free access to healthcare and education are also essential. “Finnish society is imbued with a feeling of trust, freedom and a high level of autonomy,” adds the researcher.
ats/juma