Happiest Countries in the World (2020)

Last Updated: 04/06/2020

Want to know which is the happiest country in the world? Here’s an updated list of the happiest countries in the world 2020. 

Measuring happiness is somewhat complex since the definition of happiness varies from person to person. However, every year, the World Happiness Report ranks 153 countries worldwide after how happy the citizens perceive themselves. 

The following six factors are used to rank the happiest countries in the world: levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption. These are currently the most accurate ways of measuring happiness on a global scale. 

1. Finland

Finland is the happiest country in the world 2020 with a total of 7809 happiness points. It’s the third year in a row that the Finns can pride themselves on being the happiest people in the world. 

They also ranked first in the Happiness report of 2016 and 2019 and have consistently been ranking at the top for many years. The three biggest factors behind Finland’s success are a high GDP per capita, Social Support, and the absence of corruption.

Finland is especially famous for the Sauna lifestyle and even Burger King in Helsinki has its own sauna, which is one of many interesting facts about Finland.

Photo: Shutterstock

2. Denmark

Denmark is another happy country in Scandinavia and it scores high across all categories. The Danish lifestyle and “Hygge” has become famous worldwide. The Danes can pride themselves on having one of the smallest wealth gaps in the world as well as great social support.

What’s also interesting an interesting fact about Denmark is the fact that it’s also home to the most unhappy expats in the world. 

Photo: Shutterstock

3. Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world and the Swiss people can enjoy an incredibly high standard of life. In 2015, it was ranked as the happiest country in the world, but since then it has gone up and down.

Despite that, it continues to score high across all categories, including life expectancy, GDP per capita, and absence of corruption. Another thing that’s quite unique with Switzerland is the fact that Swiss citizens can collect signatures to question a law that was recently passed. 

In 2019, it was ranked in fifth place and now in 2020, Switzerland climbs up to the third place. Furthermore, the Swiss Alps are famous worldwide as well as Swiss chocolate and watches. 

Photo: Tomsickova Tatyana/Shutterstock

4. Iceland

Iceland is dubbed as the land of fire and ice, and for those traveling there, it’s possible to experience all kinds of weather in a single day. Since the banking crisis in 2008, this tiny island nation has risen and is now thriving. 

It’s a rather isolated country with a relatively small population of some 360 000 people. In addition to beautiful landscapes, Iceland is also known for its education, health care system, and gender equality.

Photo: Vova Shevchuk/Shutterstock

5. Norway

Norway dropped two positions from 2019 but remains as one of the top 5 happiest countries in the world. Just like the other Nordic countries, Norway scores high across all categories. 

Norwegians can enjoy an excellent life expectancy, high GDP per capita, and freedom. They also have something that is quite unique, known as Allemansretten, which also exists in Sweden and Finland.

Allemansretten is a law that gives people the right to access to nature, regardless of being private or public land, which is one of many unique facts about Norway.

Photo: JaHu83 / Shutterstock.com

6. Netherlands

The Dutch can pride themselves on being one of the happiest countries in the world. The Netherlands is a liberal nation with a thriving economy and modern society. 

Additionally, Dutch people are known for being relaxed and easy-going while at the same time being creative and business-minded. Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, which is also seen as the most liberal city in the world. 

Photo: Daniel Pieterson/Shutterstock

7. Sweden

Sweden has been getting some bad publicity in recent years, but overall it remains one of the happiest nations in the world. Social support, freedom of life choices and absence of corruption are some of the main contributors. 

Swedes are in general quite happy and satisfied with their life situation. There is a Swedish word known as Lagom, which means just about right, not too much and not too little. It’s well integrated into Swedish culture and everyday life. 

Photo: Sergey Mikheev / Shutterstock.com

8. New Zealand

New Zealand is famous for many things, and happiness is just one of them. It’s also only one out of two countries in the top 10 happiest countries in the world that aren’t located in Europe. 

New Zealand remains in the same position (8th) as the previous year in the annual happiness report. 

Photo: ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock

9. Austria

Austria is ranked as the 9th happiest country in the world in 2020 after climbing 1 position from last year’s happiness report. 

There are many reasons for the high score in Austria, but the two main contributors are social support and the absence of corruption. Furthermore, Vienna is now also considered as one of the most liveable cities in the world. 

Austria is known for its beautiful mountains and elegant architecture as well as charming small towns such as Hallstatt.

Photo: sakkmesterke/Shutterstock

10. Luxembourg

Luxembourg might be one of the smallest countries in the world, but from last year, the residents can pride themselves on climbing 4 positions and a total happiness score of 7238.

In this year’s report, they pushed out Canada from the top 10 happiest countries in the world. Luxembourg is a wealthy nation and recently became the first nation in the world to offer free public transport to everyone. 

What do the world’s happiest countries have in common?

It’s important to take a closer look at what the happiest countries in the world have in common. That is the key for other nations to improve in the future. These countries are some of the richest countries in the world and they continue to rank in the top year after year.

If the world can become a happier place, that will lead us closer to global peace and thriving of all nations, and not just a few. If we can come together as a species and learn from each other’s mistakes and help one another, it’s certainly possible. 

Here are some of the common denominators among the happiest countries in the world.

• Well-educated people
• Social support is widely available
• Low crime rate and high safety levels
• Absence of war with little to no involvement in international conflicts
• Most of their citizens feel that they are free to make their own life choices
• Their economies are thriving and all of them have a high GDP per capita
• The average life expectancy is longer than most other countries
• Several of them rank high per generosity levels

Photo: Standret/Shutterstock

The least happy countries in the world 2020

Unfortunately, not all countries are as happy as the happiest countries in the world. There is still a lot of misery, poverty, wars, and corruption around the world. 

Afghanistan and South Sudan are the least happy countries in the world 2020, which is perhaps not very shocking since there’s an on-going humanitarian crisis.  The same goes for the Central African Republic, which is ranked as the poorest country in the world. 

However, there are some surprising countries in the bottom as well, such as Tanzania, Rwanda, and Botswana. The main reason for this is because of low scores on GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy as well as freedom to make life choices. 

List of the saddest countries in 2020

Most of the countries that are listed in the bottom have been doing so for years, but compared to last year, there are some notable differences. Afghanistan became the saddest country in the world and India took place in the bottom 10 countries as well. 

Additionally, there have been improvements in Central African Republic and Malawi. Syria and Haiti are no longer in the bottom 10 least happy countries as they were replaced by India and Zimbabwe. 

1. Afghanistan
2. South Sudan
3. Zimbabwe
4. Rwanda
5. Central African Republic
6. Tanzania
7. Botswana
8. Yemen
9. Malawi
10. India

List of the most unhappy countries in 2019

1. South Sudan
2. The central African Republic
3. Afghanistan
4. Tanzania
5. Rwanda
6. Yemen
7. Malawi
8. Syria
9. Botswana
10. Haiti

World Happiness Report in 2020 

Here’s a full list of the world’s happiest countries from top to bottom, ranked by total happiness score. Finland remains at the top as the happiest country worldwide. 

World Happiness Report 2019

Here’s the full list of the happiest countries in the world 2019, ranked by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 

Which was the happiest country in the world 2019?

Finland was awarded the status of being the happiest country in the world in 2019. Finland was also ranked number one in the happiness report 2018. 

Were you surprised to find out about the happiest countries in the world? Leave a comment below!