NEW YORK: Finland has been ranked as the country with the happiest population in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report published on Thursday to mark International Day of Happiness.
In the report, a partnership between pollster Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, researchers analysed the period between 2022 and 2024.
As was the case last year, the Nordic countries were all in the top 10, with Finland followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. Norway came in seventh.
The Netherlands were back in the top five, while Costa Rica (6) and Mexico (10) have made it into the top 10 for the first time.
Germany improved from 24th to 22nd place, while the US fell by one position to 24th place — its worst position ever.
The ranking includes 147 countries, with Afghanistan ranking last. Finns asked to evaluate their lives reported an average score of 7.736 (out of 10), while Afghans' average was 1.364.
The researchers identified a number of key factors that generally make people happier, such as social support, income, health, freedom and the perception of corruption.
The authors found that belief in the kindness of others is much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought.
They drew a parallel between believing that others are willing to return your lost wallet and population happiness — with Nordic countries among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets.
"The wallet data are so convincing because they confirm that people are much happier living where they think people care about each other," said economist John Helliwell, a founding editor of the World Happiness Report.
"The wallet dropping experiments confirm the reality of these perceptions, even if they are everywhere too pessimistic." Jeffrey Sachs, another founding editor of the report, said that this year's findings "reconfirm a fundamental truth: happiness is rooted in trust, kindness and social connection.
"It is up to us as virtuous individuals and citizens to translate this vital truth into positive action, thereby fostering peace, civility and well-being in communities worldwide." The authors also found a strong link between sharing meals with others and well-being across all global regions.
"Human happiness is driven by our relationships with others. Investing in positive social connections and engaging in benevolent actions are both matched by greater happiness," said Lara Aknin, professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University and one of the report's editors.
Fellow editor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics at the University of Oxford, said the new findings make us "look beyond traditional determinants like health and wealth.
"It turns out that sharing meals and trusting others are even stronger predictors of well-being than expected. In this era of social isolation and political polarisation we need to find ways to bring people around the table again — doing so is critical for our individual and collective well-being." — dpa
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