The latest World Happiness Report has Finland in No. 1 spot with Denmark and Iceland making up the top three.
If you want a happy life then it appears the best thing to do is move to Scandinavia, the latest report on the happiest places in the world to live listing five countries in the region in the top ten.
Top of the pile is Finland for the sixth year running, helped by its stunning scenery, one of the best education systems in the world, and healthcare which is the envy of many other countries.
Second is its near-neighbour Denmark, with Iceland in third, Sweden in sixth and Norway in seventh. The highest ranking non-European country is Israel in fourth with the rest of the top ten made up of the Netherlands (5), Switzerland (8), Luxembourg (9) and New Zealand in tenth spot; the UK is in 19th place with the US in 15th.
The report focuses on six key factors – social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption – which may explain why topping the list of the unhappiest countries in the world to live is Afghanistan.
The first World Happiest Report was published in 2012, and its authors believe there is growing feeling that happiness can be promoted in countries through public policies and the actions of business and civil society.
