This Is the World's Happiest Country

World Happiness Report is out for 2018
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 14, 2018 5:39 PM CDT
This Is the World's Happiest Country
A man jogs at the frozen lake Iso-Kukkanen during sun down near Lahti, Finland, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.   (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

The United States is at its unhappiest level since the annual World Happiness Report was first released in 2012. This year, the US came in No. 18, down four spots from last year, the Washington Post reports. The report was released Wednesday by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, an initiative of the United Nations, in advance of the UN's International Day of Happiness March 20. It ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, taking into account six factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Income is the biggest variable, but an economist who co-edited the list notes that a sense of belonging and other societal factors also play major roles. The US, for example, struggles with obesity, substance abuse, and other factors despite significant economic growth. This year's 10 happiest countries:

  1. Finland
  2. Norway
  3. Denmark
  4. Iceland
  5. Switzerland
  6. Netherlands
  7. Canada
  8. New Zealand
  9. Sweden
  10. Australia
Click for the complete report, or check out last year's rankings. (More happiest countries stories.)

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