Axios Finish Line: The world's happiest countries
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Finland is the happiest country in the world, according to the 11th World Happiness Report, from the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
- The U.S. ranks 15th.
🔭 Zoom in: Benevolence surged across the globe, driven by neighbors helping neighbors through the pandemic, the authors note.
- As we've reported, Americans donated more money after COVID hit than in previous years.
🖼️ The big picture: The report, which uses data from the Gallup World Poll, found that happier people tend to help others.
- The top-ranked countries had smaller gaps between the happiest and least happy residents.
Finland ranked highest in "Average Life Evaluation."
- The bottom-ranked countries were Lebanon (136) and Afghanistan (137), which are beset by political instability and conflict.
☀️ One bright spot: "Despite the magnitude of suffering and damage in Ukraine, life evaluations ... remained high ... supported now by a stronger sense of common purpose, benevolence, and trust in Ukrainian leadership," the 166-page report says.
This article originally appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness. Sign up here.
