Want to live in the happiest country in the world? Well, maybe it's time to say goodbye to Canada!
A new ranking of the happiest countries in the world for 2023 has been shared, and there's both good and bad news for Canadians.
On March 20, the latest World Happiness Report — which looks at the happiness ranking in countries worldwide — was released.
Taking home the top position, for the sixth year in a row, is Finland. This is followed by Nordic countries Denmark and Iceland respectively.
Israel moved up to fourth place this year, up from its ranking at number nine last year.
The other countries included within the top 10 are the Netherlands (5), Sweden (6), Norway (7), Switzerland (8), Luxembourg (9) and New Zealand (10).
Canada comes in 13th, right after Austria (11) and Australia (12).
While Canada didn't make the top ten, it was still ranked ahead of the U.S., which was 15th on the list.
Moreover, Canada has moved up two spots from its previous position in last year's report, when it was ranked 15th. It's also up again from 2021, when it ranked in 14th place.
To create the ranking, the report used data from Gallup World Poll, which asked respondents from each country to evaluate their life from 2020 to 2022 on a scale from zero to ten.
And, according to the report, the average life evaluation in Canada is 6.9. In contrast, the same in Finland is 7.8.
"Once happiness is accepted as the goal of government, this has other profound effects on institutional practices," the report states.
"Health, especially mental health, assumes even more priority, as does the quality of work, family life, and community."
On the flip side, the report also looked at the "unhappiest" countries in the world.
Afghanistan placed at the lowest spot, at number 137, with an average life evaluation of 1.8.
Also at the bottom of the list were Lebanon (136), Sierra Leone (135), Zimbabwe (134) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (133).
Although Canada has not ranked among the lowest when it comes to the happiness of locals, it's not been a great year for the country in global rankings.
A 2022 list of the best countries in the world bumped Canada from the the top spot, with factors like its climate and overall "sexiness" scoring poorly overall. Ouch!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
