Finland crowned world’s happiest country for third year running

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Since the first report in 2012, only four countries have claimed the top spot: Denmark in 2012, 2013 and 2016, Switzerland in 2015, Norway in 2017, and now Finland in 2018, 2019 and 2020. “The World Happiness Report has proven to be an indispensable tool for policymakers looking to better understand what makes people happy and thereby to promote the wellbeing of their citizenry,” said Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report’s editors. “Time and again we see the reasons for wellbeing include good social support networks, social trust, honest governments, safe environments and healthy lives.” The least happy countries as perceived by residents were Afghanistan, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Central African Republic. “There is also more resilience, because shared trust reduces the burden of hardships, and thereby lessens the inequality of well-being.” 10 happiest countries Finland Denmark Switzerland Iceland Norway Netherlands Sweden New Zealand Austria Luxembourg 10 least happy countries Afghanistan South Sudan Zimbabwe Rwanda Central African Republic Tanzania Botswana Yemen Malawi India 10 happiest cities Helsinki, Finland Aarhus, Denmark Wellington, New Zealand Zurich, Switzerland Copenhagen, Denmark Bergen, Norway Oslo, Norway Tel Aviv, Israel Stockholm, Sweden Brisbane, Australia 10 least happy cities