The UK is the 15th happiest country in the world, according to an international report.
The World Happiness Report 2016-2020, which surveyed 157 countries, aims “to survey the scientific underpinnings of measuring and understanding subjective well-being”.
It does so by employing polling data on happiness as well as key economic, health and development markers, and analysis from experts across fields including economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy.
Source: Indy100.com
The report found that the top 10 countries in 2020 were:
Country | Happiness Rank | Happiness Score |
Finland | 1 | 7.769 |
Denmark | 2 | 7.6 |
Norway | 3 | 7.554 |
Iceland | 4 | 7.494 |
Netherlands | 5 | 7.488 |
Switzerland | 6 | 7.48 |
Sweden | 7 | 7.343 |
New Zealand | 8 | 7.307 |
Canada | 9 | 7.278 |
Austria | 10 | 7.246 |
Have a look at the complete country list by happiness here.
All small or medium-sized western industrial countries, of which seven are in Western Europe.
What is happiness?
Happiness is one of the most important indicators of public opinion surveys and other sociological surveys. How well we feel in our skin?
Difficult question. Six of our national feelings (there are optimistic and pessimistic nations), our standard of living, our upbringing .
But what is happiness? All of us are different. Any moments? Or long period? Many consider happiness to be an ideal state, a state that can only and only be desirable. It’s a real Hollywood idyll.
If you look a bit more scientifically; happiness is a mental state characterized by positive emotions.
According to Martin Seligman, a psychologist, the components of happiness
- Enjoyments (a delicious wine, a hot bathtub)
- Immersion ability (deepening in a person’s enjoyable activity, for example, when someone gets into a good book)
- relationships (social, friendship, family ties)
- The sense of life (definition of goals for what it makes sense to fight)
- tangible success, achievements (a league cup or a good ticket at school).
The notion of happiness is also known by the religions of the world.
Who would not know the following biblical quote:
Blessed by The Spirit are the poor because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The central theme of Buddhism is happiness. In Buddhism, the Noble Eight Path leads to ultimate happiness.
Happiness already has a world day; This day is on the 20th of March!
The following chart depicts the geographical distribution of happiness based on the responses of volunteer respondents. In the areas marked with orange, people are the happiest, while the most unhappy in the areas depicted in the dark lilies.
© Helliwell, John F/ Richard Layard/Jeffrey Sachs/World Happiness Report 2015/New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Happiest Countries In The World by Population 2020
Country Name | Happiness Rank | Happiness Score | Population 2019 |
Finland | 1 | 7.769 | 5,532,156 |
Denmark | 2 | 7.6 | 5,771,876 |
Norway | 3 | 7.554 | 5,378,857 |
Iceland | 4 | 7.494 | 339,031 |
Netherlands | 5 | 7.488 | 17,097,130 |
Switzerland | 6 | 7.48 | 8,591,365 |
Sweden | 7 | 7.343 | 10,036,379 |
New Zealand | 8 | 7.307 | 4,783,063 |
Canada | 9 | 7.278 | 37,411,047 |
Austria | 10 | 7.246 | 8,955,102 |
Australia | 11 | 7.228 | 25,203,198 |
Costa Rica | 12 | 7.167 | 5,047,561 |
Israel | 13 | 7.139 | 8,519,377 |
Luxembourg | 14 | 7.09 | 615,729 |
United Kingdom | 15 | 7.054 | 67,530,172 |
Ireland | 16 | 7.021 | 4,882,495 |
Germany | 17 | 6.985 | 83,517,045 |
Belgium | 18 | 6.923 | 11,539,328 |
United States | 19 | 6.892 | 329,064,917 |
Czech Republic | 20 | 6.852 | 10,689,209 |
United Arab Emirates | 21 | 6.825 | 9,770,529 |
Malta | 22 | 6.726 | 440,372 |
Mexico | 23 | 6.595 | 127,575,529 |
France | 24 | 6.592 | 65,129,728 |
Taiwan | 25 | 6.446 | 23,773,876 |
Chile | 26 | 6.444 | 18,952,038 |
Guatemala | 27 | 6.436 | 17,581,472 |
Saudi Arabia | 28 | 6.375 | 34,268,528 |
Qatar | 29 | 6.374 | 2,832,067 |
Spain | 30 | 6.354 | 46,736,776 |
Panama | 31 | 6.321 | 4,246,439 |
Brazil | 32 | 6.3 | 211,049,527 |
Uruguay | 33 | 6.293 | 3,461,734 |
Singapore | 34 | 6.262 | 5,804,337 |
El Salvador | 35 | 6.253 | 6,453,553 |
Italy | 36 | 6.223 | 60,550,075 |
Bahrain | 37 | 6.199 | 1,641,172 |
Slovakia | 38 | 6.198 | 5,457,013 |
Trinidad And Tobago | 39 | 6.192 | 1,394,973 |
Poland | 40 | 6.182 | 37,887,768 |
Uzbekistan | 41 | 6.174 | 32,981,716 |
Lithuania | 42 | 6.149 | 2,759,627 |
Colombia | 43 | 6.125 | 50,339,443 |
Slovenia | 44 | 6.118 | 2,078,654 |
Nicaragua | 45 | 6.105 | 6,545,502 |
Argentina | 47 | 6.086 | 44,780,677 |
Romania | 48 | 6.07 | 19,364,557 |
Ecuador | 50 | 6.028 | 17,373,662 |
Kuwait | 51 | 6.021 | 4,207,083 |
Thailand | 52 | 6.008 | 69,625,582 |
Latvia | 53 | 5.94 | 1,906,743 |
South Korea | 54 | 5.895 | 51,225,308 |
Estonia | 55 | 5.893 | 1,325,648 |
Jamaica | 56 | 5.89 | 2,948,279 |
Mauritius | 57 | 5.888 | 1,269,668 |
Japan | 58 | 5.886 | 126,860,301 |
Honduras | 59 | 5.86 | 9,746,117 |
Kazakhstan | 60 | 5.809 | 18,551,427 |
Bolivia | 61 | 5.779 | 11,513,100 |
Hungary | 62 | 5.758 | 9,684,679 |
Paraguay | 63 | 5.743 | 7,044,636 |
Cyprus | 64 | 5.718 | 1,198,575 |
Peru | 65 | 5.697 | 32,510,453 |
Portugal | 66 | 5.693 | 10,226,187 |
Pakistan | 67 | 5.653 | 216,565,318 |
Russia | 68 | 5.648 | 145,872,256 |
Philippines | 69 | 5.631 | 108,116,615 |
Serbia | 70 | 5.603 | 8,772,235 |
Moldova | 71 | 5.529 | 4,043,263 |
Libya | 72 | 5.525 | 6,777,452 |
Montenegro | 73 | 5.523 | 627,987 |
Tajikistan | 74 | 5.467 | 9,321,018 |
Croatia | 75 | 5.432 | 4,130,304 |
Hong Kong | 76 | 5.43 | 7,436,154 |
Dominican Republic | 77 | 5.425 | 10,738,958 |
Bosnia And Herzegovina | 78 | 5.386 | 3,301,000 |
Turkey | 79 | 5.373 | 83,429,615 |
Malaysia | 80 | 5.339 | 31,949,777 |
Belarus | 81 | 5.323 | 9,452,411 |
Greece | 82 | 5.287 | 10,473,455 |
Mongolia | 83 | 5.285 | 3,225,167 |
Nigeria | 85 | 5.265 | 200,963,599 |
Kyrgyzstan | 86 | 5.261 | 6,415,850 |
Turkmenistan | 87 | 5.247 | 5,942,089 |
Algeria | 88 | 5.211 | 43,053,054 |
Morocco | 89 | 5.208 | 36,471,769 |
Azerbaijan | 90 | 5.208 | 10,047,718 |
Lebanon | 91 | 5.197 | 6,855,713 |
Indonesia | 92 | 5.192 | 270,625,568 |
China | 93 | 5.191 | 1,433,783,686 |
Vietnam | 94 | 5.175 | 96,462,106 |
Bhutan | 95 | 5.082 | 763,092 |
Cameroon | 96 | 5.044 | 25,876,380 |
Bulgaria | 97 | 5.011 | 7,000,119 |
Ghana | 98 | 4.996 | 30,417,856 |
Ivory Coast | 99 | 4.944 | 25,716,544 |
Nepal | 100 | 4.913 | 28,608,710 |
Jordan | 101 | 4.906 | 10,101,694 |
Benin | 102 | 4.883 | 11,801,151 |
Republic Of The Congo | 103 | 4.812 | 5,380,508 |
Gabon | 104 | 4.799 | 2,172,579 |
Laos | 105 | 4.796 | 7,169,455 |
South Africa | 106 | 4.722 | 58,558,270 |
Albania | 107 | 4.719 | 2,880,917 |
Venezuela | 108 | 4.707 | 28,515,829 |
Cambodia | 109 | 4.7 | 16,486,542 |
Palestine | 110 | 4.696 | 4,981,420 |
Senegal | 111 | 4.681 | 16,296,364 |
Somalia | 112 | 4.668 | 15,442,905 |
Namibia | 113 | 4.639 | 2,494,530 |
Niger | 114 | 4.628 | 23,310,715 |
Burkina Faso | 115 | 4.587 | 20,321,378 |
Armenia | 116 | 4.559 | 2,957,731 |
Iran | 117 | 4.548 | 82,913,906 |
Guinea | 118 | 4.534 | 12,771,246 |
Georgia | 119 | 4.519 | 3,996,765 |
Gambia | 120 | 4.516 | 2,347,706 |
Kenya | 121 | 4.509 | 52,573,973 |
Mauritania | 122 | 4.49 | 4,525,696 |
Mozambique | 123 | 4.466 | 30,366,036 |
Tunisia | 124 | 4.461 | 11,694,719 |
Bangladesh | 125 | 4.456 | 163,046,161 |
Iraq | 126 | 4.437 | 39,309,783 |
Dr Congo | 127 | 4.418 | 86,790,567 |
Mali | 128 | 4.39 | 19,658,031 |
Sierra Leone | 129 | 4.374 | 7,813,215 |
Sri Lanka | 130 | 4.366 | 21,323,733 |
Myanmar | 131 | 4.36 | 54,045,420 |
Chad | 132 | 4.35 | 15,946,876 |
Ukraine | 133 | 4.332 | 43,993,638 |
Ethiopia | 134 | 4.286 | 112,078,730 |
Uganda | 136 | 4.189 | 44,269,594 |
Egypt | 137 | 4.166 | 100,388,073 |
Zambia | 138 | 4.107 | 17,861,030 |
Togo | 139 | 4.085 | 8,082,366 |
India | 140 | 4.015 | 1,366,417,754 |
Liberia | 141 | 3.975 | 4,937,374 |
Comoros | 142 | 3.973 | 850,886 |
Madagascar | 143 | 3.933 | 26,969,307 |
Lesotho | 144 | 3.802 | 2,125,268 |
Burundi | 145 | 3.775 | 11,530,580 |
Zimbabwe | 146 | 3.663 | 14,645,468 |
Haiti | 147 | 3.597 | 11,263,077 |
Botswana | 148 | 3.488 | 2,303,697 |
Syria | 149 | 3.462 | 17,070,135 |
Malawi | 150 | 3.41 | 18,628,747 |
Yemen | 151 | 3.38 | 29,161,922 |
Rwanda | 152 | 3.334 | 12,626,950 |
Tanzania | 153 | 3.231 | 58,005,463 |
Afghanistan | 154 | 3.203 | 38,041,754 |
Central African Republic | 155 | 3.083 | 4,745,185 |
South Sudan | 156 | 2.853 | 11,062,113 |
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