1. Finland: For the sixth year in a row, Finland is the world's happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report. Aleksanterinkatu (Aleksi Street) in Helsinki is pictured. 2.
Australia's long been referred to as 'the lucky country' and now we can start saying we're one of the happiest countries in the world, too. The United Nation's 2023 World Happiness Index has just been released, and Australia has come in at a very cheery 12th position.
According to the 2023 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world for the sixth year in a row. It's followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands in the annual survey released on Monday, March 20, 2023, that ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
The 2022 World Happiness Report included a section looking at possible genetic effects on individual happiness. Finland is in the top position in the world happiness report in 2022. Followed by Denmark and Iceland in second and third place.
Just why Finns are happier than others comes down to a number of factors including lower income inequality (most importantly, the difference between the highest paid and the lowest paid), high social support, freedom to make decisions, and low levels of corruption.
Finland took the top spot for the sixth year in a row in 2023, followed by Denmark and Iceland. But why are they so consistently happy? Some say it's because they are small, homogenous, and wealthy. Several years ago, a research paper even suggested it was because they are genetically bound to be happier.
Empowerment is key to happiness
"Danes feel empowered to change things in their lives," says Professor Bjørnskov. "What is special about Danish society is that it allows people to choose the kind of life they want to live. They rarely get caught in a trap. This means they're more satisfied with their lives."
Studies are clear about one thing: throughout the world, Americans tend to smile the most! It's not that other countries don't have plenty to smile about, it's that people tend to smile as much as they are conditioned to through socialization and culture.
Having gained a PhD degree in molecular genetics, Matthieu Ricard changed his path from science to become a Buddhist monk, and was declared to be the “happiest person on the planet” after a 12-year study by the University of Wisconsin.
The quokka, a small marsupial native to Australia, is one such example of a species vulnerable to extinction in the country's harsh surroundings. Known as the “happiest animal in the world” due to its cute and friendly appearance, these creatures are now only found in a few isolated forests and small islands.
Finland. This Nordic nation has been crowned the happiest in the world for a record sixth time. While its final score (7.804) is slightly lower than last year's (7.821), Finland is still considerably ahead of other countries.
Income, location and social network are just some of the factors that contribute to our quality of life in Australia, and indeed help Australians live a happy life.
But it's India that takes the crown as the most recent nation to fall in love with the varied landscapes of Australia, with an impressive 15.4 per cent increase in travellers.
Survey finds Canberra to be the happiest city in Australia.
2022 rankings
In the 2022 index, New Zealand is ranked most free overall, while North Korea is last. Hong Kong was ranked most free in economic liberty, while Norway was ranked most free in the social liberty category.
Here is the full ranking of the richest countries in 2023, according to their per capita GDP. Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in the EU has a population of 634,000 and is the richest country in this ranking with a per capita GDP of nearly $130,000.
Coming in at the top of the list as the most beautiful place on earth is Indonesia, which has a natural beauty score of 7.77 out of 10. Indonesia is home to more than 17,000 islands.
Finland: For the sixth year in a row, Finland is the world's happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report. Aleksanterinkatu (Aleksi Street) in Helsinki is pictured. 2. Denmark: The Nordic countries all perform well by the measures used to determine happiness.
The economy of Denmark is dominated by the service sector with 80% of all jobs, whereas about 11% of all employees work in manufacturing and 2% in agriculture. The nominal gross national income per capita was the ninth-highest in the world at $68,827 in 2023.
Denmark has several leading industries including food processing, tourism and the production of iron, steel and machinery.