You May Want To Avoid This Country Ranked The ‘Unhappiest’ In the World

While the last year was wrought with challenges for many amid the pandemic and now a war, the World Happiness Report 2022 looks to rank which countries have risen above and which have fallen during uncertain times.

It may come as no surprise that Finland is at the top of the list as the “happiest” country in the world of the more than 150 countries that the World Happiness Report ranks as it has been there for the last five years.

“The World Happiness Report grew out of that worldwide determination to find the path to greater global well-being. Now, at a time of pandemic and war, we need such an effort more than ever,” Jeffrey Sachs, president of Social Development Solutions Network and director of the Earth Institute's Center for Sustainable Development, said in a statement.

Following behind Finland as other happy countries include Denmark in the No. 2 spot and Iceland in the No. 3 spot. Switzerland falls in at No. 4 followed by Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel, and New Zealand.

The top end of the happy category is also rounded out by Austria, Australia, Ireland, Germany, and Canada, respectively.

The U.S. has moved up the happiest ranking to No. 16, up from 19th in 2021.

But not all countries listed on World Happiness Report are “happy” places.

At the very bottom of the report, in what would be suggested as the world’s “unhappiest” country, is Afghanistan.

It is followed by the countries of Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Botswana, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and India, in that order.

“At the very bottom of the ranking we find societies that suffer from conflict and extreme poverty, notably we find that people in Afghanistan evaluate the quality of their own lives as merely 2.4 out of 10,” Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, said.

“This presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims and the fundamental importance of peace and stability for human well- being,”

Biggest gainers on the report were Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania, which moved up the rankings to happier countries, while Lebanon, Venezuela, and Afghanistan dropped significantly lower on the list.

“This information is incredibly powerful for understanding the human condition and how to help people, communities, and countries work toward happier lives,” Lara B. Aknin, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University, said.