World’s happiest countries for 2024 revealed – as US drops out of top 20

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Finland held on to its top rating as the world’s happiest nation for the seventh 12 months whereas the US and Germany dropped out of the top 20, in line with an annual UN-sponsored index.

The World Happiness Report revealed on Wednesday is the primary to incorporate separate rankings by age group and exhibits low happiness scores from younger individuals in some elements of the world.

Young individuals in North America weren’t as completely satisfied as the aged, which is one of the important thing causes that helped push the US out of the top 20 for the primary time because the report was first revealed in 2012.

However, the US and different countries dropped in rank additionally as a result of different nations, notably a number of in Eastern Europe, noticed positive aspects on the happiness rating.

The report, revealed on the United Nations International Day of Happiness on 20 March, attracts on world survey information from greater than 140 countries. Nations are ranked on happiness based mostly on their common life evaluations over three previous years, which on this case is 2021 to 2023.

Afghanistan stayed as the world’s lowest-ranked nation for happiness at 143. Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Congo have been additionally ranked on the backside.

The report seems at six key variables to attain life satisfaction: GDP per capita, social assist, wholesome life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

Finland, together with its Nordic neighbours, are all ranked on the top – Denmark at 2, Iceland at 3, and Norway at 7.

Israel is surprisingly at 5, amid its ongoing conflict on Hamas in Gaza. However, the authors do level out that the three-year common of the rankings usually mutes the impact of “cataclysmic events happening during a particular year”.

The survey, which was carried out within the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank earlier than the occasions of 7 October, ranks the Palestinian happiness rating at 103.

The Netherlands at 6, Luxembourg at 8, Switzerland at 9, and Australia at 10 spherical out the top 10.

The US at 23 and Germany at 24 dropped out of the top 20 partly as a result of of an increase in happiness scores in countries like Czechia at 18, Lithuania at 19, and Slovenia at 21. The UK is at 20.

On the opposite hand, Costa Rica and Kuwait entered the top 20 at 12 and 13. India ranked 126, the identical as final 12 months, within the happiness index.

The report famous that youthful generations have been happier than older friends in most countries. In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, happiness amongst teams below 30 dropped dramatically since 2006-10, with older generations now happier. In Central and Eastern Europe, in distinction, happiness elevated in any respect ages throughout the identical interval.