Did Your Favorite Travel Destination Land in the Top 10 of the World's Happiest Countries?

The annual United Nations World Happiness Report has just been released and in what comes as no surprise to those who follow the yearly ranking, Finland has once again been crowned happiest country in the world.

This is the eighth straight year that Finland has topped the chart, holding the title since 2018. And there’s good reason for that. Finland does many, many things right.

There is a fundamental trust present throughout Finnish society, which enables its citizens to feel safe and relaxed, according to a separate report from Business Finland. The country is also known for its high levels of freedom.

And here’s another reason why Finnish people are so happy: Their proximity to nature, which supports overall well-being.

“In a well-functioning, fair and equal society, people can worry less and concentrate on living their lives. Poor life decisions or bad luck don’t necessarily have to mean falling too far behind. To feel safe is one of our primal needs and if we’re not safe, we’re not able to relax into co-creation and innovation,”  Elisabet Lahti, PhD, applied psychology researcher, author of Gentle Power, and founder of Sisu Lab, said in the Business Finland report.


Finland (Photo Credit: Courtesy AdobeStock)

Looking beyond the top spot, Nordic countries definitely have a lock on the happiness factor. They dominate the top 10 in the rankings. Here’s a closer look:

• Denmark
• Iceland
• Sweden
• Netherlands
• Costa Rica 
• Norway
• Israel
• Luxembourg
• Mexico

 

This is the first time in the report's 13-year history that Costa Rica and Mexico landed among the top 10.

The United States did not rank in the top 10 or the top 20. It came in at 24 this year, which is down one slot from last year’s list.

According to the Happiness Report, the opposite of happiness is despair, which can lead to death by suicide or substance abuse – also known as ‘deaths of despair’.

"Fortunately, deaths of this kind are falling in the majority of countries, though not in the United States or Republic of Korea," explains the report. "Deaths of despair are significantly lower in countries when more people report donating, volunteering, or helping strangers."

Published every year since 2012, the report is based on data from a Gallup World Poll that’s analyzed by leading well-being scientists. Responses from people in more than 140 nations are used to develop the annual ranking of happiest countries.

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