From breathtaking Northern lights to the Nordic lakes, there are a million reasons to visit Finland. And it just added another one – it’s the happiest country in the world. Finland, which earned the rank for the 5th time in a row, also happens to be one of the cleanliest countries.
The United States moved up three spots to 16th, one spot ahead of the United Kingdom, while France moved up to 20th, its highest position yet.
In an annual UN-sponsored index, the country topped the list while Afghanistan was ranked as the unhappiest, followed closely by Lebanon.
Lebanon, which is in the midst of an economic crisis, dropped to second from bottom on the 146-country index, barely ahead of Zimbabwe. War-scarred Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis has worsened since the Taliban retook power in August following the withdrawal of US-led soldiers.
“This (index) presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims,” co-author Jan-Emmanuel De Neve said.
Meanwhile, a few countries like Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania showed a drastic growth in the well-being index.
India, on the other hand, is ranked 136th in the annual survey, while neighbouring nation Pakistan is ranked 121st.
The index is calculated using people’s self-reported happiness as well as economic and social data. Based on an average of data over a three-year period, it assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to ten.