The Happiest Countries in the World

Where in the world are people happiest?

• In an increasingly globalised world with seemingly countless options, many people are willing to relocate to carve out an existence of maximum happiness, if necessary to the other end of the world.
• As subjective as happiness is, countless attempts are made to ascertain which places on the map provide most of it - which results in a bunch of different rankings, depending on the point of view.
• Every year, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes its World Happiness Report, which examines the relationship between happiness and development, based on 1000 people per country.
• Levels of contentment are measured by looking at GDP per capita, life expectancy, social policies, levels of trust and corruption, perceived personal freedom, and generosity.
• For years, Northern European countries have led the list in overall levels of happiness, with Finland now once again in first place, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
• We take a look at recent rankings, what makes these countries happier than others, and what it really means to live in one of the world’s “happy” places.