Even in the worst and most extraordinary situations, some things never change. This also applies to the generally high quality of life in Germany. Despite two years of a global pandemic and the subsequent economic recession, floods and threat of war that have completely changed normal life, it is still one of the best places to live in the world.
This is according to the World Happiness Report, a report published annually by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. On its tenth anniversary, it had an additional focus: the Covid-19 pandemic and the way countries are dealing with the virus.
In search of the happiest countries
The report is based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which is compiled using the opinions of respondents from various countries. They are asked questions on topics such as quality of life and happiness, with a particular focus on certain everyday feelings. Each respondent is asked to rate their current life as a whole, rating the best possible life for them with a 10 and the worst possible life with a 0. As a rule, around 1,000 responses are collected annually for each country.
The ranking of national happiness is based on a three-year average, which increases the sample size and allows for more accurate estimates. As mentioned above, this year was the first time that questions on the pandemic were also asked, which did not change Switzerland’s position much.
The happiest and the unhappiest countries
As last year, Germany is in 14th place with an average life score of 7034 points. Finland, Iceland and Ireland are in first, second and third place – with the Scandinavian country achieving the top score of 7821 points. At the bottom of the scale are Zimbabwe, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Above Germany are Australia and Ireland, followed by Canada and the United States.
It is no coincidence that the richest countries in the world are generally at the top of the list and the poorest countries at the bottom. War, corruption and crime, or the absence of such factors, also play a major role. On the other hand, freedom, social support and a high life expectancy contribute to a country scoring higher in these rankings.
These are the ten happiest countries in the world in 2022:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
- Luxembourg
- Sweden
- Norway
- Israel
- New Zealand
You can read the full report here.