Sorry, Norway. You’re no longer the world’s happiest country.
Finland has claimed the bragging rights in the latest World Happiness Report, which is put together by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. The country topped all others in the six key components that contribute to overall happiness—income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support, and generosity.
Norway, last year’s winner, slipped to the number two slot. Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland rounded out the top five.
The United States came in 18, four places lower than last year. Among the factors bringing down the country’s collective mood are obesity, the opioid crisis, and untreated depression.
Burudi, according to the report, is the least happy country on earth.
The authors of the report note that the differences in the key factors among the top five companies are fairly miniscule, and year-to-year jostling is to be expected. No country has held the title for two years in a row.
This year’s report also ranked countries by the happiness of their immigrants. Again…Finland topped the world.
“The closeness of the two rankings shows that the happiness of immigrants depends predominantly on the quality of life where they now live, illustrating a general pattern of convergence,” the report said. “Happiness can change, and does change, according to the quality of the society in which people live.”
