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Finland named happiest country in the world for sixth year in a row

Watch: Finland is the happiest place in the world, again

Want to live in the happiest country in the world? It might be time to move to Finland.

The Scandinavian nation has just been named the happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report for the sixth year in a row, beating other countries such as Denmark, Iceland, and Israel to nab the top spot.

In fact, it seems as though there might be something in the water for the Scandi nations, as both Norway and Sweden join Finland in the top 10.

Read more: UK areas with most improved rates of happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction revealed

Other countries included in the top 10 are the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand.

Lithuania is the only new country to be listed in the top 20, moving up more than 30 places since 2017.

War-torn Afghanistan and Lebanon are the two unhappiest countries due to lower than average life evaluations.

Finland has been named as the world's happiest country. (Getty Images)
Finland has been named as the world's happiest country. (Getty Images)

The happiest countries in the world for 2023

  1. Finland

  2. Denmark

  3. Iceland

  4. Israel

  5. Netherlands

  6. Sweden

  7. Norway

  8. Switzerland

  9. Luxembourg

  10. New Zealand

  11. Austria

  12. Australia

  13. Canada

  14. Ireland

  15. US

  16. Germany

  17. Belgium

  18. Czechia

  19. UK

  20. Lithuania

The UK comes in at 19 on the list, lower than the US placed at 15, Germany at 16, Ireland at 14, and Australia at 12.

France is just below the UK in terms of happiness, however, as it stands at number 21.

The happiness of the countries was measured using several factors, including: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and low corruption.

Denmark, Copenhagen, Nyhavn. Boats and people on harbour. Outdoor cafes
Denmark is the world's second happiest country. (Getty Images)

“Average happiness and our country rankings, for emotions as well as life evaluations, have been remarkably stable during the three COVID-19 years,” study author John Helliwell said.

“Changes in rankings that have taken place have been continuations of longer-term trends, such as the increases seen in the rankings of the three Baltic countries. Even during these difficult years, positive emotions have remained twice as prevalent as negative ones, and feelings of positive social support twice as strong as those of loneliness.”

Read more: How to be happy: The numbers that add up to a better life

Fellow study author Lara Aknin noted that levels of everyday kindness remained above pre-pandemic levels.

The unhappiest countries in the world for 2023

  1. Afghanistan

  2. Lebanon

  3. Sierra Leone

  4. Zimbabwe

  5. Democratic Republic of the Congo

  6. Botswana

  7. Malawi

  8. Comoros

  9. Tanzania

  10. Zambia

  11. Madagascar

  12. India

  13. Liberia

  14. Ethiopia

  15. Jordan

  16. Togo

  17. Egypt

  18. Mali

  19. Gambia

  20. Bangladesh

“For a second year, we see that various forms of everyday kindness, such as helping a stranger, donating to charity, and volunteering, are above pre-pandemic levels,” she added. “Acts of kindness have been shown to both lead to and stem from greater happiness.”

One country whose happiness has taken a hit in the past year is Ukraine which, at place 92 on the list, continues to be invaded by Russia.

Read more: Here's what happens to your body when you're happy

“The devastating impact of the war is evident to all, and so we also find that well-being in Ukraine has taken a real hit,” study author Jan-Emmanuel De Neve said. “But what is surprising, however, is that well-being in Ukraine fell by less than it did in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, and this is thanks in part to the extraordinary rise in fellow feeling across Ukraine as picked up in data on helping strangers and donations – the Russian invasion has forged Ukraine into a nation.”