Did you know that Finland, for the sixth time, is the world’s happiest country according to the World Happiness Report rankings based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll?

The World Happiness Report, a publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, draws on global survey data from people in more than 150 countries. Countries are ranked on happiness based on their average life evaluations over the three preceding years, in this case 2020 to 2022.

The report, released on Monday, March 20, 2023, identifies the happiest nations, those at the very bottom of the happiness scale and everything in between, plus the factors that tend to lead to greater happiness. March 20 coincided with the International Day of Happiness, a day designated by the UN that’s marking its 10th anniversary in 2023.

For the sixth year in a row, Finland is the world’s happiest country, according to World Happiness Report rankings based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll. The Nordic country and its neighbors Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway all score very well on the measures the report uses to explain its findings: healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, low corruption, generosity in a community where people look after each other and freedom to make key life decisions.

Israel moves up to No. 4 this year from its No. 9 ranking last year. The Netherlands (No. 5), Switzerland (No. 8), Luxembourg (No. 9) and New Zealand (No. 10) round out the Top 10. Australia (No. 12), Canada (No. 13), Ireland (No. 14), the United States (No. 15) and the United Kingdom (No. 19) all made it into the Top 20.

While the same countries tend to appear in the top 20 year after year, there’s a new entrant this year: Lithuania. The Baltic nation has been climbing steadily over the past six years from No. 52 in 2017 to No. 20 on the latest list. And the other Baltic countries, Estonia (No. 31) and Latvia (No. 41), have been climbing in the ranks, too. France dropped out of the Top 20 to No. 21 in this year’s report.

Nations ranked lower for happiness, at the very bottom of the list is Afghanistan at No. 137. Lebanon is one rank above at No. 136. Average life evaluations in these countries are more than five points lower (on a scale from 0 to 10) than in the 10 happiest countries. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put both countries very much in the global spotlight as the 2022 report was released. In this year’s rankings, Russia is No. 70 and Ukraine is No. 92.

Taking a holistic view of the well-being of all the components of a society and its members makes for better life evaluations and happier countries. According to the report, “The objective of every institution should be to contribute what it can to human well-being,” which includes accounting for future generations and preserving basic human rights.

Here are some of the happiest countries in the world in 2023:

1. Finland 🇫🇮 
2. Denmark 🇩🇰 
3. Iceland 🇮🇸 
4. Israel 🇮🇱 
5. Netherlands 🇳🇱 
6. Sweden 🇸🇪 
7. Norway 🇳🇴 
8. Switzerland 🇨🇭 
9. Luxembourg 🇱🇺 
10. New Zealand 🇳🇿 
12. Australia 🇦🇺 
13. Canada 🇨🇦 
15. USA 🇺🇸 
16. Germany 🇩🇪 
19. UK 🇬🇧 
21. France 🇫🇷 
24. Romania 🇷🇴 
26. UAE 🇦🇪 
30. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 
32. Spain 🇪🇸 
33. Italy 🇮🇹 
36. Mexico 🇲🇽 
39. Poland 🇵🇱 
44. Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 
47. Japan 🇯🇵 
49. Brazil 🇧🇷 
52. Argentina 🇦🇷 
57. South Korea 🇰🇷 
64. China 🇨🇳 
70. Russia 🇷🇺 
76. Philippines 🇵🇭 
84. Indonesia 🇮🇩 
85. South Africa 🇿🇦 
88. Venezuela 🇻🇪 
92. Ukraine 🇺🇦 
95. Nigeria 🇳🇬 
101. Iran 🇮🇷 
106. Turkey 🇹🇷 
108. Pakistan 🇵🇰 
118. Bangladesh 🇧🇩 
121. Egypt 🇪🇬 
126. India 🇮🇳 
137. Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Sources: CNN | Twitter @stas_feed