This year’s happiest country on Earth is Finland, according to an annual UN report.
If cold weather and a lack of sunlight during the winter are enough to get you down, chances are you’re not Finnish.
The 2018 World Happiness Report has crowned Finland the happiest nation on earth.
In typical fashion, all the Nordic countries scored highly on income, social support, healthy life expectancy, trust, freedom and generosity.
Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark, said: “In the Nordic countries in general, we pay some of the highest taxes in the world, but there is wide public support for that because people see them as investments in quality of life for all. Free healthcare and university education goes a long way when it comes to happiness.”
The annual report has shown a steady decline of the US as the nation grapples with a crisis of obesity, substance abuse and depression.
The report said: “The U.S. is in the midst of a complex and worsening public health crisis, involving epidemics of obesity, opioid addiction, and major depressive disorder that are all remarkable by global standards.”
The US and UK came in at 18th and 19th places respectively.
Meanwhile, Canada’s ranking remained unchanged from last year, holding the title as 7th happiest country in the world.
Burundi, a country scarred by bouts of ethnic cleansing, civil wars and coup attempts, was the least happy in the report.
Top 20 happiest countries:
1. Finland
2. Norway
3. Denmark
4. Iceland
5. Switzerland
6. Netherlands
7. Canada
8. New Zealand
9. Sweden
10. Australia
11. Israel
12. Austria
13. Costa Rica
14. Ireland
15. Germany
16. Belgium
17. Luxembourg
18. United States
19. United Kingdom
20. United Arab Emirates
Bottom 20 happiest countries:
137. Sudan
138. Ukraine
139. Togo
140. Guinea
141. Lesotho
142. Angola
143. Madagascar
144. Zimbabwe
145. Afghanistan
146. Botswana
147. Malawi
148. Haiti
149. Liberia
150. Syria
151. Rwanda
152. Yemen
153. Tanzania
154. South Sudan
155. Central African Republic
156. Burundi
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