Want to be in a happy country? Pack your mittens.
Most of the world’s happiest countries lie in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, according to the 2016 edition of the annual World Happiness Report.
Scandinavia fared particularly well, landing five entries among the top 10 happiest countries of the world.
On the other end of the scale, Burundi was rated the least happy country, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin.
The United States ranked 13th overall, a rise of two places from its 2015 ranking.
The Report is published by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Rankings consider countries based on factors like equality, per capita GDP, social support, life expectancy, perceptions of corruption, individual liberties and how citizens rate their own lives within their home country.
10. Sweden
Sweden has emerged from two economic crisis and a prolonged period of malaise in the 1990s to become the 10th happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report. With a median age of 42.2 years old, it also has one of the oldest populations within the top 10.
9. Australia
The World Happiness Report’s ninth-ranked country enjoys a strong social safety net and high average life expectancy, though it lags many of its peers in individual freedom and per capita GDP. Australia also contends with severe youth unemployment despite its high education levels.
8. New Zealand
What New Zealand lacks in per capita GDP and life expectancy it makes up in levels of social support, individual freedom and generosity, high enough to place it as the eight happiest country in the world. New Zealand’s also one of the youngest countries on this list with a median age of 37.8 years old.
7. The Netherlands
The Netherlands places near the top of the report’s rankings for equality. The Dutch people are not only known for embracing diversity, but also for the high levels of individual freedom. The Netherlands also boasts per capita GDP, life expectancy and social support levels at or near the highest in the world.
6. Canada
The only country from the Americas to make the top 10, Canada’s rise in the World Happiness Report can be attributed, in part, to Quebec, a semiautonomous French-Canadian province where mean household income has tripled over the past 25 years.
5. Finland
Ranked the fifth happiest country in the world, Finland lags its Scandinavian neighbors in per capita GDP but meets or exceeds them in social support programs and in life expectancy. Finland’s high standards of living are challenged by its aging population and its vulnerable export economy.
4. Norway
Norwegians report higher-than-average life expectancies, GDP and levels of individual freedom. According to the 2016 CIA World Fact Book, Norway is able to maintain its extensive social safety net primarily because it produces natural resources like oil, natural gas, lumber, fish and minerals.
3. Iceland
Iceland, ranked third, stands out among the top 10 because it has maintained extremely high levels of happiness ratings amidst a financial and economic crisis — ratings that the World Happiness Report attributes to a strong social safety net.
2 Switzerland
Switzerland’s second-place ranking is best explained by its highly-ranked per capita income. The Swiss also enjoy high levels of individual freedom as well as excellent sanitation, health care and education systems.
1. Denmark
Denmark is the world’s happiest country according to the World Happiness Report, with the most influential element to the Danes’ happiness being an above-average life expectancy. Denmark also placed first in the 2013 report and third in the 2015 report.
