New York, March 20, 2024 – Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia top the list of 143 countries in the World Happiness Report 2024 and some of them have been there since before the Covid pandemic, particularly the Nordic countries.
Issued on the annual International Day of Happiness, the report showed Finland remaining at the top while Afghanistan ranked last in the list this year.
Following the top 10 are Eastern European countries, Czechia, Lithuania and Slovenia, where the report said happiness is rising. But the United States and Germany have fallen in the rankings.
Other rankings, including developed countries, are: the United Kingdom (20th), the United States (23rd), Germany (24th), France (27th), Singapore (30th), Japan (51st), China (60th), Russia (72nd) and India (126th).
Read World Happiness Report 2024.
Editors of the World Happiness Report said it reflects a “worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy” and to review the state of happiness today and to show how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations of happiness.
The report is a partnership of Gallup World Poll, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the report’s Editorial Board.
March 20 each year was proclaimed The International Day of Happiness by the UN General Assembly in 2013 by adopting a resolution sponsored by Bhutan. The UN said Bhutan recognized the value of happiness as the foundation of an inclusive and equitable society, and in 2008 it enshrined Gross National Happiness in the country’s constitution as the primary goal of the government, rather than the pursuit of economic indicators such as Gross National Product.
“Longitudinal studies have shown that happiness can have positive effects on health and life span,” the UN said. “Of course, there are many factors that impact how long we live but having a positive outlook and a general sense of well-being have been linked to longevity. So what will make you happy, according to studies? It’s not money or material things, at least not in the long run. Studies have shown that the things that bring lasting happiness include strong relationships, helping others, expressing gratitude and meditating.”
United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations News – United Nations News – United Nations News