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10 happiest countries in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2023

finland
The 10 happiest countries in the worldMiemo Penttinen - Getty Images

Finland has been voted the happiest place in the world for the sixth consecutive year, the World Happiness Report 2023 has found.

In order to uncover the happiest spots around the globe, researchers analysed six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Despite several overlapping crises, the study found that global life satisfaction is just as high as those in pre-pandemic years.

Famous for its stunning landscapes and excellent quality of life, Finland remains in the top position thanks to its simple lifestyle, commitment to sustainability, deep connection to nature, and love for seasonal and local food. Denmark and Iceland came in second and third place, respectively, meanwhile Israel and the Netherlands rounded up the top five.

iceland also made the list
Iceland also made the list Travelpix Ltd - Getty Images

Elsewhere in the Happiness Report, the team found that various forms of everyday kindness — such as helping a stranger, donating to charity, and volunteering – are all above pre-pandemic levels. "Acts of kindness have been shown to both lead to and stem from greater happiness," said Lara Aknin, who worked on the study.

The 2023 also looked at the available survey data from Ukraine. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve explains: "The devastating impact of the war is evident to all, and so we also find that well-being in Ukraine has taken a real hit. But what is surprising, however, is that wellbeing in Ukraine fell by less than it did in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea

"And this is thanks in part to the extraordinary rise in fellow feeling across Ukraine as picked up in data on helping strangers and donations – the Russian invasion has forged Ukraine into a nation."

denmark
Denmark Alexandr Spatari - Getty Images

Take a look at the full list below...

10 happiest places to live in the world

  1. Finland

  2. Denmark

  3. Iceland

  4. Israel

  5. Netherlands

  6. Sweden

  7. Norway

  8. Switzerland

  9. Luxembourg

  10. New Zealand

"Average happiness and our country rankings, for emotions as well as life evaluations, have been remarkably stable during the three COVID-19 years," said John Helliwell.

"Changes in rankings that have taken place have been continuations of longer-term trends, such as the increases seen in the rankings of the three Baltic countries. Even during these difficult years, positive emotions have remained twice as prevalent as negative ones, and feelings of positive social support twice as strong as those of loneliness."

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