Can you be happy in times of covid? Searching for an answer to that question would perhaps give another topic. What can be said, according to the ranking just published by World Happiness Report 2021 , there is one country that stands out above all others in happiness: Finland.
The Nordic country is back at the top of the list for the fourth year in a row, according to data from a poll conducted by Gallup World Poll. Each year, the top 10 is made taking into account the data from the previous three years and in this edition it would look like this:
Happiest countries in the world in 2021
SEE THE GALLERY
However, due to the special situation of the last year due to the pandemic, the index has also published the ranking of the happiest countries exclusively for 2020, although it does not present too many variations.
- Finland ??
- Isladia ??
- Denmark ??
- Switzerland ??
- Netherlands ??
- Sweden ??
- Germany ??
- Norway ??
- New Zealand ??
- Austria ??
On the other hand, Afghanistan ranks as the most unhappy country in the world, followed by Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Spain has not crept into the top 10 , but it has improved its position: from 27th place it has risen to 24th.
The ranking is made with the scores to their own lives of the inhabitants of the countries; data that is combined with other indices, such as the GDP of each one, the level of corruption or social protection measures.
According to John Helliwell, one of the authors of the report , on average “there was no decrease in well-being when measured by people’s own assessment of life.” In his opinion, a possible explanation is that covid-19 is seen as “a common external threat that affects everyone” and that has generated a greater feeling of “solidarity and camaraderie”.
“In terms of years of well-being per person born, the world has made great progress in recent decades that not even COVID-19 has fully counteracted,” explained another of the authors, Richard Layard.
