Finland tops the list of happy countries, America and Germany are not in the top 20.

Finland has been ranked as the world's happiest country for the seventh consecutive year in the United Nations-sponsored annual World Happiness Report released on Wednesday. And the Nordic countries maintained their place among the 10 happiest countries. This also includes Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. Afghanistan, plagued by humanitarian disaster since coming under Taliban control in 2020, ranked lowest among the 143 countries included in the survey.

This is the first time in this annual report that has been published for more than a decade that the United States and Germany are not among the 20 happiest countries. In the new survey, America has come at 23rd place and Germany at 24th place. In turn, Costa Rica and Kuwait have entered the top 20 at 12th and 13th positions.

The report says that now none of the world's largest countries is included among the happiest countries. Among the top 10 countries, only Netherlands and Australia have population of more than 15 million. Whereas, among the top 20 countries, only Canada and the UK have a population of more than 30 million.

The sharpest declines in happiness since 2006-10 were seen in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan, while the largest increases were recorded in Eastern European countries Serbia, Bulgaria and Latvia. Happiness rankings are based on individuals' self-assessment of life satisfaction as well as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.

Jennifer Di Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, told AFP that Finns' close connection to nature and a healthy work-life balance significantly contribute to their life satisfaction. Finns "have a greater understanding of what a successful life is" compared to, for example, the United States, where success is often equated with financial gain, he said.

The Finns' strong welfare society, trust in state officials, low levels of corruption and free healthcare and education also play an important role. "Finnish society is permeated with a sense of trust, freedom and a high level of autonomy," Di Paola said. This year's report also found that younger generations are happier than their older peers in most areas of the world – but that's not the case for everyone.

In North America, Australia and New Zealand, happiness among groups under 30 has declined dramatically since 2006–10, with older generations now happier than younger ones. In contrast, in Central and Eastern Europe, happiness increased significantly among people of all ages during the same period, while in Western Europe people of all ages reported similar levels of happiness. Happiness inequality has increased in every region except Europe, which the authors describe as a "worrying trend".