Happiest Countries in the World (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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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

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. 

Rank	Country	Happiness Score
1	Finland	7809
2	Denmark	7646
3	Switzerland	7560
4	Iceland	7504
5	Norway	7488
6	Netherlands	7449
7	Sweden	7353
8	New Zealand	7300
9	Austria	7294
10	Luxembourg	7238
11	Canada	7232
12	Australia	7223
13	United Kingdom	7165
14	Israel	7129
15	Costa Rica	7121
16	Irland	7094
17	Tyskland	7076
18	United States	6940
19	Czech Republic	6911
20	Belgium	6864
21	United Arab Emirates	6791
22	Malta	6773
23	France	6664
24	Mexico	6465
25	Taiwan	6455
26	Uruguay	6440
27	Saudi Arabia	6406
28	Spain	6401
29	Guatemala	6399
30	Italy	6387
31	Singapore	6377
32	Brazil	6376
33	Slovenia	6363
34	El Salvador	6348
35	Kosovo	6325
36	Panama	6305
37	Slovakia	6281
38	Uzbekistan	6258
39	Chile	6228
40	Bahrain	6227
41	Lithuania	6215
42	Trinidad and Tobago	6192
43	Poland	6186
44	Colombia	6163
45	Cyprus	6159
46	Nicaragua	6137
47	Romania	6124
48	Kuwait	6102
49	Mauritius	6101
50	Kazakhstan	6058
51	Estonia	6022
52	Philippines	6006
53	Hungary	6000
54	Thailand	5999
55	Argentina	5975
56	Honduras	5953
57	Latvia	5950
58	Ecuador	5925
59	Portugal	5911
60	Jamaica	5890
61	South Korea	5872
62	Japan	5871
63	Peru	5797
64	Serbia	5778
65	Bolivia	5747
66	Pakistan	5693
67	Paraguay	5692
68	Dominican Republic	5689
69	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5674
70	Moldova	5608
71	Tajikistan	5556
72	Montenegro	5546
73	Russia	5546
74	Kyrgyzstan	5542
75	Belarus	5540
76	Northern Cyprus	5536
77	Greece	5515
78	Hong Kong	5510
79	Croatia	5505
80	Libya	5489
81	Mongolia	5456
82	Malaysia	5384
83	Vietnam	5353
84	Indonesia	5286
85	Ivory Coast	5233
86	Benin	5216
87	Maldives	5198
88	Congo	5194
89	Azerbaijan	5165
90	Northern Macedonia	5160
91	Ghana	5148
92	Nepal	5137
93	Turkey	5132
94	China	5124
95	Turkmenistan	5119
96	Bulgaria	5102
97	Morocco	5095
98	Cameroon	5085
99	Venezuela	5053
100	Algeria	5005
101	Senegal	4981
102	Guinea	4949
103	Niger	4910
104	Laos	4889
105	Albania	4883
106	Cambodia	4848
107	Bangladesh	4833
108	Gabon	4829
109	South Africa	4814
110	Iraq	4785
111	Lebanon	4772
112	Burkina Faso	4769
113	Gambia	4751
114	Mali	4729
115	Nigeria	4724
116	Armenia	4677
117	Georgia	4673
118	Iran	4672
119	Jordan	4633
120	Mozambique	4624
121	Kenya	4583
122	Namibia	4571
123	Ukraine	4561
124	Liberia	4558
125	Palestinia	4553
126	Uganda	4432
127	Chad	4423
128	Tunisia	4392
129	Mauritania	4375
130	Sri Lanka	4327
131	Congo	4311
132	Swaziland	4308
133	Myanmar	4308
134	Comoros	4289
135	Togo	4187
136	Ethiopia	4186
137	Madagascar	4166
138	Egypt	4151
139	Sierra Leone	3926
140	Burundi	3775
141	Zambia	3759
142	Haiti	3721
143	Lesotho	3653
144	India	3573
145	Malawi	3538
146	Yemen	3527
147	Botswana	3479
148	Tanzania	3476
149	Central African Republic	3476
150	Rwanda	3312
151	Zimbabwe	3299
152	South Sudan	2817
153	Afghanistan	2567

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. 

Overall rank	Country or region	Score
1	Finland	7.769
2	Denmark	7.600
3	Norway	7.554
4	Iceland	7.494
5	Netherlands	7.488
6	Switzerland	7.480
7	Sweden	7.343
8	New Zealand	7.307
9	Canada	7.278
10	Austria	7.246
11	Australia	7.228
12	Costa Rica	7.167
13	Israel	7.139
14	Luxembourg	7.090
15	United Kingdom	7.054
16	Ireland	7.021
17	Germany	6.985
18	Belgium	6.923
19	United States	6.892
20	Czech Republic	6.852
21	United Arab Emirates	6.825
22	Malta	6.726
23	Mexico	6.595
24	France	6.592
25	Taiwan	6.446
26	Chile	6.444
27	Guatemala	6.436
28	Saudi Arabia	6.375
29	Qatar	6.374
30	Spain	6.354
31	Panama	6.321
32	Brazil	6.300
33	Uruguay	6.293
34	Singapore	6.262
35	El Salvador	6.253
36	Italy	6.223
37	Bahrain	6.199
38	Slovakia	6.198
39	Trinidad & Tobago	6.192
40	Poland	6.182
41	Uzbekistan	6.174
42	Lithuania	6.149
43	Colombia	6.125
44	Slovenia	6.118
45	Nicaragua	6.105
46	Kosovo	6.100
47	Argentina	6.086
48	Romania	6.070
49	Cyprus	6.046
50	Ecuador	6.028
51	Kuwait	6.021
52	Thailand	6.008
53	Latvia	5.940
54	South Korea	5.895
55	Estonia	5.893
56	Jamaica	5.890
57	Mauritius	5.888
58	Japan	5.886
59	Honduras	5.860
60	Kazakhstan	5.809
61	Bolivia	5.779
62	Hungary	5.758
63	Paraguay	5.743
64	Northern Cyprus	5.718
65	Peru	5.697
66	Portugal	5.693
67	Pakistan	5.653
68	Russia	5.648
69	Philippines	5.631
70	Serbia	5.603
71	Moldova	5.529
72	Libya	5.525
73	Montenegro	5.523
74	Tajikistan	5.467
75	Croatia	5.432
76	Hong Kong	5.430
77	Dominican Republic	5.425
78	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5.386
79	Turkey	5.373
80	Malaysia	5.339
81	Belarus	5.323
82	Greece	5.287
83	Mongolia	5.285
84	North Macedonia	5.274
85	Nigeria	5.265
86	Kyrgyzstan	5.261
87	Turkmenistan	5.247
88	Algeria	5.211
89	Morocco	5.208
90	Azerbaijan	5.208
91	Lebanon	5.197
92	Indonesia	5.192
93	China	5.191
94	Vietnam	5.175
95	Bhutan	5.082
96	Cameroon	5.044
97	Bulgaria	5.011
98	Ghana	4.996
99	Ivory Coast	4.944
100	Nepal	4.913
101	Jordan	4.906
102	Benin	4.883
103	Congo (Brazzaville)	4.812
104	Gabon	4.799
105	Laos	4.796
106	South Africa	4.722
107	Albania	4.719
108	Venezuela	4.707
109	Cambodia	4.700
110	Palestinian Territories	4.696
111	Senegal	4.681
112	Somalia	4.668
113	Namibia	4.639
114	Niger	4.628
115	Burkina Faso	4.587
116	Armenia	4.559
117	Iran	4.548
118	Guinea	4.534
119	Georgia	4.519
120	Gambia	4.516
121	Kenya	4.509
122	Mauritania	4.490
123	Mozambique	4.466
124	Tunisia	4.461
125	Bangladesh	4.456
126	Iraq	4.437
127	Congo (Kinshasa)	4.418
128	Mali	4.390
129	Sierra Leone	4.374
130	Sri Lanka	4.366
131	Myanmar	4.360
132	Chad	4.350
133	Ukraine	4.332
134	Ethiopia	4.286
135	Swaziland	4.212
136	Uganda	4.189
137	Egypt	4.166
138	Zambia	4.107
139	Togo	4.085
140	India	4.015
141	Liberia	3.975
142	Comoros	3.973
143	Madagascar	3.933
144	Lesotho	3.802
145	Burundi	3.775
146	Zimbabwe	3.663
147	Haiti	3.597
148	Botswana	3.488
149	Syria	3.462
150	Malawi	3.410
151	Yemen	3.380
152	Rwanda	3.334
153	Tanzania	3.231
154	Afghanistan	3.203
155	Central African Republic	3.083
156	South Sudan	2.853

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. 

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