Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the sixth year in a row, according to an annual UN-sponsored index released on Monday, with acts of kindness increasing in Ukraine despite the Russian invasion.
The Nordic country is known for its extensive welfare system, high trust in authorities, and low levels of inequality among its 5.5 million inhabitants, with thousands of lakes and nearly endless forests.
Despite the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s ranking improved this year from 98 to 92, but its overall score fell from 5.084 to 5.071 on a scale of zero to 10.
According to the report’s editor, Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, there has been a “extraordinary rise in fellow feeling across Ukraine” despite the “magnitude of suffering and damage in Ukraine” since the 2022 invasion.
According to the report, “benevolence grew sharply in Ukraine but fell in Russia” last year, referring to acts such as helping strangers or making donations.
According to the report, there is a “much stronger sense of common purpose, benevolence, and trust in Ukrainian leadership” than there was before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Northern Europe dominated the top spots once again, with Denmark coming in second, followed by Iceland.
Israel ranked fourth, up five spots from the previous year.
While the same countries consistently top the list, the authors claim that Baltic countries are rapidly approaching Western European levels.
Africa
The island nation of Mauritius receives the highest score in Africa. Aside from the country’s natural beauty and stability, there is increased economic opportunity. The World Bank classifies Mauritius as an upper-middle-income country, and it is one of the world’s fastest growing high-income markets.
Nigeria ranked number 95 on the list with a rating of 5.0
Sierra Leone has the lowest index score among African countries, followed by Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s worth noting that the region has a few data gaps, including Burundi, which is currently the poorest country in the world.
World’s Happiest Country/World Happiness Report
The World Happiness Report, which was first published in 2012, is based on people’s self-assessment of happiness as well as economic and social data.
The report takes six major factors into account: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption.
It assigns a happiness score based on a three-year average of data.
