When looking into traveling to new places have you ever thought about what the happiest countries in the world might be? If you answered no, well neither have I.
I like to think that I’ve traveled my fair share, although definitely not enough! Some places have stood out as being happy or maybe just friendlier. If I had to pick one destination that would be at the top of my list, I’d go with Bali, Indonesia.
Today, March 20 is the International Day of Happiness according to T+L.
In honor of this special day, T+L shares a list of the top 10 happiest countries in the world. You might expect the United States to be at the top of the list due to power and wealth but it isn’t. (The US ranked 14th.)
When I first saw the title of the article, I couldn’t imagine how a county’s happiness could be measured. T+L mentions “the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network has published the 2017 World Happiness Report—an annual study that examines the connections between happiness and development“.
To measure happiness, around 1,000 people from each UN member state (thats 193 countries), “rate their quality of life on a scale from 0 to 10, while researchers cull data from six areas—GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, trust and corruption, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity“.
Here are the Top 10 Happiest Countries in the World:
- Norway
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Finland
- Netherlands
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Sweden
A quick look at this list will show that 70% of the top 10 come from Europe. Of the 7 European countries, five are Scandinavian.
I’ve been to every country in the top 10 besides Iceland and I don’t recall noticing people from these countries seeming happier than in other countries. Have you?
Find out more from CN Traveler here.
Andy- Wow- thanks for sharing those details. Interesting and odd that some are considered most happy based when you factor in your second point.
JohnJ- I guess we can then assume alcohol makes for happiness! 🙂
I agree 100% with your choice of Bali.
Per the list above, “of the 7 European countries, five are Scandinavian” and they have populations that consume copious amounts of alcohol. Perhaps that factor tipped the scale in their favor! ;<)
Maybe I’m being wildly optimistic. But three of the top five happiest countries in the world are European nations outside the EU.
And Iceland, Finland have some of the highest suicide rates in Europe along with Sweden and Norway. I live in Sweden.