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For 2021, the US fell once again in the World Happiness Report, dropping another notch since 2018 to #19, barely remaining in the top 20. Find out who’s #1 and how America ranks in other categories.
The World Happiness Report measures subjective well-being based upon three main indicators: Life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions. The report said that, in light of the pandemic, they have paid more attention than usual to specific daily emotions considering how the virus has altered different aspects of life for everyone.
According to the world happiness report, as one would naturally assume, it has been more challenging to determine a true sense of how geography, demographic, social and political underpinnings, and other factors amid a global pandemic affect happiness. From that standpoint, this year’s report weighed findings for a single year against a three-year average.
The environment you live in plays a big factor in your mental health and happiness.
Once again, and for the past several years, the country ranking #1 and perhaps literally, the happiest place on earth, isn’t Disneyland – it’s Finland.
In fact, the Nordic countries dominated the top ten ranking of the 2021 World Happiness Report.
#1 Finland, #2 Denmark, #3 Switzerland, #4 Iceland, #5 Netherlands, #6 Norway, #7 Sweden, #8 Luxembourg, #9 New Zealand, #10. Austria
#11 Australia, #12, Israel, #13 Germany, #14, Canada #15 Ireland, #16 Costa Rica, #17 United Kingdom, #18 Czech Republic, #19 United States, #20 Belgium.
#21 France, #24 Taiwan province of China, #25 United Arab Emirates, #26 Saudi Arabia, #27, Spain, #28 Italy, #35 Brazil, #36 Mexico, #56 Japan, #68 Greece, #76 Russia, #84 China.
#140 Burundi, #141 Yemen, #142, Tanzania, #143 Haiti, #144 Malawi, #145 Lesotho, #146 Botswana, #147, Rwanda, #148 Zimbabwe, #149 Afghanistan.
#103 South Africa, #104 Turkey, #105 Pakistan, #107 Venezuela, #108 Georgia, #110 Ukraine, #111 Iraq, #118 Iran, #127 Jordan, #132 Egypt.
In a ranking of the best countries across the globe for 2021, by U.S. News & World Report, the United States ranked #6 overall. However, America’s “quality of life” ranking tracked very closely with the world happiness ranking, a possible indication these two are inextricably linked.
Here’s a quick overview of how the US ranked in several categories:
Quality of life: #20. This encompasses access to food, housing, education, and healthcare, as well as job security, political stability, individual freedom, and environmental quality.
Social purpose: #19. This ranks the ability to come together and support causes such as human rights, environment, religious freedom, and more.
Cultural influence: #3. This ranks the influence of the country to be a trendsetter on a broad scale on the rest of the globe.
Entrepreneurship: #3. This ranks the ability for citizens to become prosperous through entrepreneurial efforts.
