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29 March 2024

World Happiness Report 2018 released

Photo by Mustafa Kasmi

Published
By Wam

This year Finland takes the top spot as the happiest country as measured by surveys undertaken by Gallup International from 2015-2017. Rounding out the rest of the top ten in order of overall happiness are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia. In addition, Finland’s immigrants are also the happiest immigrant population in the world, based on the available data from 117 countries.

"Governments are increasingly using indicators of happiness to inform their policy-making decisions," notes co-editor Jeffrey D. Sachs.

The World Happiness Report 2018, which ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants, was released today at a launch event at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican. A subsequent event will occur next week on March 20th, celebrating World Happiness Day at the United Nations.

This report also considers the happiness of immigrants. The report includes four chapters on migration, both internal (within-country) and international (cross-country), investigating the happiness of migrants, their families left behind, and others living in the cities and countries receiving migrants.

The report, produced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) with the support of the Ernesto Illy Foundation, the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, provides evidence and policy recommendations on best practices to promote happiness and well-being.

The main focus of this year’s report, in addition to its usual ranking of the levels and changes in happiness around the world, is on migration within and between countries.