Finland Tops List as the ‘World’s Happiest Country’ for the Sixth Time
We can count the several reasons why Finland is a great place for the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, Equaldex.com give the country high marks: a 75 out of 100 Equality Index rating and an 85 out of 100 Legal Rights Index rating! The Nordic country has legal protections for same-sex marriage and same-sex parent adoption as well as laws to protect us from employment and housing discrimination.
So, it’s no surprise that for the sixth time, Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world. It clinched the top of the table of the World Happiness Report beating Denmark in second and third-placed Iceland.
Published three years after the Coronavirus pandemic began, this year’s report surveyed 137 countries and found there was a global surge of “benevolence” in 2020, especially in 2021.
“Average happiness and our country rankings, for emotions as well as life evaluations, have been remarkably stable during the three Covid-19 years,” said John Helliwell, one of the report’s authors and a professor at the University of British Columbia.
Gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perception of corruption, and dystopia were some of the criteria in ranking and evaluating each country.
The U.S. clinched the 15th spot, while the U.K. came in at 19. And unfortunately, Afghanistan was judged to be one of the least happy places because millions have been driven into poverty and hunger after foreign aid decreased after the Taliban seized power in 2021. Lebanon was also low on the list because it has been experiencing an economic crisis.
Top 20 Happiest Countries
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Israel
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Norway
8. Switzerland
9. Luxembourg
10. New Zealand
11. Austria
12. Australia
13. Canada
14. Ireland
15. United States
16. Germany
17. Belgium
18. Czechia
19. United Kingdom
20. Lithuania
Some reasons why Finland is touted as the ‘happiest country’ may stem from the fact that the country of 5.5 million has quick work commutes, which free up more time in the day for people to enjoy themselves, according to the report. And sure, maybe its nightless phenomenon may play into its happiness quotient, too! From May to August, the sun doesn’t set in Finland, whereas countries further south in the Northern Hemisphere struggle with dwindling daylight hours and vitamin D deficiency.
It has been more than 10 years since the first World Happiness Report was published. And it is exactly 10 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution 66/281, proclaiming March 20 to be observed annually as International Day of Happiness.
What do you think? What country do you think should be at the top of the ‘happiest countries’ list?
