The World Happiness Report is out, Finland top again
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After over a year of lockdown restrictions and reports of worsening mental health, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network published its annual World Happiness Report in March, analyzing how COVID-19 has affected people around the world and ranking countries by how happy their residents are.
Finland is the happiest country in the world for the fourth year in a row, other top performers were Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany , Norway, New Zealand, and Austria.
And, of the 95 countries surveyed in 2020, the top 10 unhappiest countries were Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Jordan, India, Cambodia, Benin, Myanmar, Namibia, Egypt, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Zambia, Croatia, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan were the countries that showed the most improvement when comparing 2020 happiness ratings to earlier years. Impressively, Croatia jumped from 61st to 23rd position. This may have something to do with policies that kept Croatian citizens working during the pandemic while citizens of other countries were forced into employment hiatuses.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Philippines, El Salvador, Benin, Malta, and Ecuador showed the steepest declines in happiness in 2020. Other notable dips were found in the United Kingdom (13th to 18th position), Canada (10th to 15th position), and the UAE (19th to 27th position).
The United States improved its standing slightly, to 14th place (previously 16th). And, despite its troubles with COVID-19, Italy improved from 28th to 25th place.
Launched in 2012, the World Happiness Report is an annual survey of more than 350,000 people in 95 countries asking them to rate their happiness on a 10-point scale. Authors of the report rely on data from the Gallup World Poll to conduct its analysis.
Some questions included in the survey are, “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?” and “Were you treated with respect all day yesterday?”
Though the authors of the World Happiness report stress the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental health, thus influencing levels of life satisfaction, they also acknowledge the positive side.
Namely, the pandemic has “shone a light on mental health as never before.” The increased focus on mental health issues should encourage further research and the implementation of necessary social services.
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