Ireland rose two places, up to 13th, while the United States rose three places to 16th, one ahead of Britain. France climbed to 20th, its highest ranking yet.
As well as a personal sense of wellbeing, based on Gallup polls in each country, the happiness score takes account of GDP, social support, personal freedom, and levels of corruption.
This year the authors also used data from social media to compare people’s emotions before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. They found “strong increases in anxiety and sadness” in 18 countries but a fall in feelings of anger.
“The lesson of the World Happiness Report over the years is that social support, generosity to one another and honesty in government are crucial for wellbeing,” report co-author Jeffrey Sachs wrote.
“World leaders should take heed.”
Finland, a country of vast forests and lakes, is known for its well-functioning public services, ubiquitous saunas, widespread trust in authority and low levels of crime and inequality.
Nonetheless, the report raised some eyebrows when it first placed Finland at the top of its listings in 2018.
Many of the Nordic country’s 5.5 million people describe themselves as taciturn and prone to melancholy and admit to eyeing public displays of joyfulness with suspicion.
News source: rte