Finland has retained its title as the world’s happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, according to the latest annual UN-sponsored World Happiness Report released on Wednesday.
Continuing the trend, other Nordic nations such as Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden also secured spots among the top 10 happiest countries, with Denmark trailing closely behind Finland.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan, grappling with a dire humanitarian crisis since the Taliban’s resurgence in 2020, remained at the bottom of the rankings among the 143 countries surveyed.
In a noteworthy shift, both the United States and Germany failed to secure spots among the top 20 happiest nations for the first time in the report’s more than a decade-long history, landing at 23rd and 24th place, respectively. Conversely, Costa Rica and Kuwait made significant strides, entering the top 20 at the 12th and 13th positions.
Interestingly, the report highlighted the absence of any of the world’s largest countries among the happiest nations. It pointed out that in the top 10 countries, only the Netherlands and Australia have populations exceeding 15 million, while in the entire top 20, only Canada and the UK have populations exceeding 30 million. This observation underscores a shift in happiness dynamics, suggesting that smaller nations may offer unique societal conditions conducive to overall well-being.
