Norway – leader of the world happiness ranking
As reported by “Russkaya Germaniya”, an international group of experts from Columbia University led by Professor Jeffrey Sachs published in New York the fifth “World Happiness Report”. It is compiled based on a survey of the population of different countries, during which respondents answered questions about how happy they feel. Specialists also take into account the standard of living in each country, GDP per capita, the scale of corruption, the amount of social support from the state, and some other factors.
As it turns out, the general idea of happiness has no place for stereotypes like an idyllic sea lagoon under palm trees. Based on the final report of the World Happiness Report 2017, one can again conclude that climatic conditions are not the main thing. If there is freedom, a strong economy, and a prosperous life, then long winters and cold are no obstacle to a happy existence.
This is fully proven by the example of Norway, which this time broke into the leaders of the world ranking, pushing its neighbor Denmark into second place. Thus, the pinnacle of happiness has moved to the far north of Europe, to the shores of the not at all tropical Arctic Ocean.
Norwegians, who were only fourth last year, topped the ranking for the first time. Five years ago, the residents of Switzerland felt the happiest, and then for three years in a row, the Danes occupied the top step of the podium. And in general, northerners dominate the top ten. Judge for yourself: Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden.
Germany is not in the top 10, but is an example of stability in feelings of happiness, still occupying 16th place. It lags behind among others Israel (11th place), Austria (13th), and the USA (14th), but at the same time outstrips its most important European partners – Great Britain (19th) and France (31st). As for Russia, it rose seven positions over the year – to the 49th line of the ranking.
The country where residents feel the most unhappy this year is the Central African Republic (155th place). Things are slightly better in Burundi (154th), Tanzania (153rd), Syria (152nd), and Rwanda (151st). In general, the group of thirty worst includes predominantly African countries, as well as Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, and Yemen.