Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for seven consecutive years.
And Afghanistan is at the very bottom of the list. The ‘World Happiness Report-2024’ was published on Wednesday under the auspices of the United Nations.
This list of happiest countries is published every year on the eve of International Day of Happiness.
This time was no exception. The ‘World Happiness Report 2024’ has been released.
143 countries are included in this annual list of the happiest countries in the world.
As usual, the countries of the Nordic region are at the top of this year’s list. The top five happiest countries include three other countries in the region, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. The positions of these countries are second, third and fourth respectively. Besides, the name of Israel is number five as the happiest country.
The Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia are ranked sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
A list of the happiest countries has been published for more than a decade. But this is the first time that one of the world’s most prosperous countries, the United States and Germany, are not included in the list of the top 20 happiest countries. This year the two countries are ranked 23rd and 24th respectively.
In contrast, Costa Rica (12th) and Kuwait (13th) made the top 20 countries.
Afghanistan is the last on the list. The Taliban came to power in the country in 2020 after ousting the Western-backed Ashraf Ghani government. Since then, Afghanistan has been in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
It should be noted that in making this list, the number is measured on a scale of zero to 10 based on people’s assessment of happiness, as well as economic and social conditions. In addition, each country’s people’s sense of personal well-being, personal freedom, generosity, GDP and level of corruption are taken into consideration.
This year’s report found that young people are happier than older people in most parts of the world. But not in all regions.
In North America, Australia and New Zealand, the happiness levels of the under-30s have dropped dramatically. Compared to that, the elderly are happier in these countries.
