Canada dropped out of the top 10 happiest countries
The world is even sadder this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but, Canadians are feeling the moping more than others.
According to a United Nations report, Finland is still the happiest country in the world, Zimbabwe is at the bottom of the list and Canada has dropped out of the top 10 happiest countries. The list is compiled annually by the UN's Sustainable Development Group. The results are based on 2020 data on income, freedom, trust in government, life expectancy, social support and generosity.
According to the report, Canada ranked 15th, down five spots from 2017-2019. Canada also officially lagged behind the U.S. after outperforming its southern neighbor for several years in a row. The USA was ahead of Canada, ranking 14th on the list.
Meanwhile, Finland took the top spot for the fourth year in a row, while the Nordic countries lead the top five. New Zealand was the only non-European country to make the top 10:
- Finland
- Iceland
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Germany
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Austria
"Year after year, we find that life satisfaction is higher in northern European countries," said co-author and Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs. — People feel safe in these countries, so confidence levels are high."
The ranking has changed little over the past few years, suggesting that COVID-19 has not had much impact on the top-ranking countries.
The annual survey attempts to cover almost all countries in the world, but about one-third of the world's countries were missing from this year's list because of pandemic-related survey and data collection problems. The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which compiles the index, also compiled a separate list using old data from countries that did not report in 2020. Finland topped the list, with Afghanistan in last place.
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