New Zealand dropped one spot, but remains the only non-European country in the top 10 in this year’s United Nations World Happiness Report.
Finland retained the crown of happiest nation on Earth for a fourth year in a row, followed by Iceland and Denmark, with Aotearoa ninth and Australia 12th.
Nations' Covid-19 responses were a major focus of the report, which called 2020 a “year like no other”.
“This whole report focuses on the effects of Covid-19 and how people all over the world have fared,” the team behind the study said.
“Our aim was two-fold, first to focus on the effects of Covid-19 on the structure and quality of people's lives, and second to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world have dealt with the pandemic. In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others.”
The success of the Covid responses in New Zealand, Australia and East Asia was noted.
“The evidence shows that people's morale improves when the government acts,” the report found.
The report also investigated how social connectedness, which has been impacted by lockdowns and other physical distancing measures, affects people’s overall happiness.
“Surprisingly there was not, on average, a decline in well-being when measured by people's own evaluation of their lives,” said study editor John Helliwell.
“One possible explanation is that people see Covid-19 as a common, outside threat affecting everybody and that this has generated a greater sense of solidarity and fellow-feeling.”
World's happiest countries 2021
1. Finland
2. Iceland
3. Denmark
4. Switzerland
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. Norway
9. New Zealand
10. Austria
11. Israel
12. Australia
13. Ireland
14. United States
15. Canada
16. Czech Republic
17. Belgium
18. United Kingdom
19. China
20. France
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