Finland is the World ́s Happiest Country – Again!

The land of Santa, sauna, road rally, aurora borealis, and . . . ?

Yes, the second time in a row, Finland is still the world ́s happiest country according to the 2019 World Happiness Report released by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Finland takes the top spot this year and is followed by Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands among 156 countries.

The report measures the state of happiness across countries based on indicators such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, the perception of corruption and previous-day feelings of laughter or sadness.

This year ́s report focuses on “community and happiness” among nations and how happiness has evolved over the past dozen years, with a focus on technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes.

Here is the list of the top performers in the 2019 World Happiness Report, with their 2018 ranking in brackets:

1. Finland (1)

2. Denmark (3)

3. Norway (2)

4. Iceland (4)

5. Netherlands (6)

6. Switzerland (5)

7. Sweden (9)

8. New Zealand (8)

9. Canada (7)

10. Austria (12)

Source: World Happiness Report 2019