For the 4th year in a row, Finland was named, on Friday, the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report, which reveals a Top 10 dominated by the Nordic countries.
This annual study commissioned by the United Nations, included this year, and unlike in previous years, surveys of how countries have handled the coronavirus pandemic that has rocked the world for more than a year.
According to the report’s authors, this year’s survey looked at the effects of the crisis on the structure and quality of people’s lives as well as how governments have dealt with it. Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands fell behind Finland in this year’s index.
All the Nordic countries are ranked in the top 10 of a list of 149 countries, while Estonia came in 28th, and Russia 60th. Zimbabwe closes the standings in last place.
The 20 countries at the bottom of the list are in Africa, many of which were struggling with difficult situations, unrest or even civil war.
This independent annual survey is organized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. About 1,000 respondents in each country were asked to rate, for example, the quality of their life on a scale of zero to 10.
