The World Happiness Report rankings for 2023 have been released, and Finland has been named the “world’s happiest country” for the sixth year in a row. Here are the 10 happiest countries and the secrets to their upbeat outlook.
The world’s top 10 happiest countries in 2023
The World Happiness Report rankings for 2023 have been released. The results are based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll engaged on a 10-point scale, Euro News reports.
1. Finland (7.80). This marks the sixth consecutive year that Finland has been dubbed the “world’s happiest country.”
2. Denmark (7.59).
3. Iceland (7.53).
4. Israel (7.47).
5. Netherlands (7.40).
6. Sweden (7.40)
7. Norway (7.32).
8. Switzerland (7.24).
9. Luxembourg (7.23).
10. New Zealand (7.12).
For the record, the United States landed in 15th place, and the United Kingdom was 19th.
At the bottom, the world’s unhappiest countries are Zimbabwe (3.20), Sierra Leone (3.14), Lebanon (2.39), and Afghanistan (1.86).
Happiest countries reveal their secrets to happiness
The Beatles may have sung, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love,” but income is one of the key factors in happiness, according to the report.
One thing that was apparent, despite being on the list of some of the coldest countries in the world, Switzerland and the Nordic countries of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway all scored high in happiness. All made the top ten.
The main factors the World Happiness Report rankings considered were six key variables: income (GDP per capita), social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.
“The objective of every institution should be to contribute what it can to human well-being,” the report said, which included accounting for future generations and preserving basic human rights, CNN reported.
Should positive emotions be considered?
Some critics say the methodology of the World Happiness Report rankings leaves out the amount of positive emotion people experience, which they say is another crucial factor to happiness. They say if positive emotions were considered in the rankings, then Latin American countries would have been considered the happiest, particularly Paraguay and Guatemala, The World Economic Forum reported.
What makes life meaningful?
A 2021 survey by think tank the Pew Research Center looked at global happiness from a different perspective, asking: “What makes life meaningful?”
The results varied by age, and the Pew Research Center broke it down into four age groups: 18-29, 30-49, 50-64, 65+.
Across all age groups, family ranked number one in making life meaningful.
However, in the No. 2 slot, friends were most meaningful to 18 through 29-year-olds, while occupation was considered most meaningful to ages 30 through 64, and 65+ said material well-being.
In the No. 3 slot, 18 through 29-year-olds said occupation, while ages 30-64 said material well-being, and 65+ said health.
