World Happiness Report : Finland tops list for 5th year in a row; See India's rank

Finland, for the fifth straight year, topped the World Happiness Report (WHR). The latest edition of the report was released on March 18, two days before the annual International Day of Happiness. The report issued by the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network ranks 15 countries on parameters such as GDP, personal well-being, life expectancy, etc. The rankings are given on a scale of 1-10 based on the average data of the past three years. 

Austria was the only country to have moved out from the list of top 10; out of the other 9 countries, all have changed their positions based on the ranking. From the lower rung, Afghanistan was ranked as the unhappiest nation followed by Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana, respectively.

Where does India stand in World Happiness Report?

India's ranking inched forward three spots to 136, from 139 in 2021. Following are the 20 happiest countries in the WHR 2022:

1. Finland 
2. Denmark
3. Iceland 
4. Switzerland
5. The Netherlands
6. Luxembourg 
7. Sweden 
8. Norway 
9. Israel 
10. New Zealand 
11. Austria 
12. Australia 
13. Ireland
14. Germany
15. Canada 
16. United States
17. United Kingdom 
18. Czech Republic 
19. Belgium 
20. France (new entrant)

As the Russia-Ukraine war escalates, Russia has been ranked 80 and Ukraine 98. Although the rankings were compiled before the war began on February 24. 

Earlier in December 2021, Finland's Prime Minister, in an interview, stated that the secret to the success of the world’s happiest nation is equality, a well-funded education system, and a strong welfare state. Sanna Marin, the Nordic nation's prime minister said Finland is committed to preserving its generous welfare state in an environmentally sustainable way and looks at the development and export of green technology as the key to the country's future prosperity, The Guardian reported, citing a foreign media interview. 

A new parental leave system is slated to go into effect in August, with the goal of allowing mothers and fathers to spend the same amount of time at home with their children so that both have equal career possibilities and also to close the gender wage gap. According to Marin, it would increase the amount of time that fathers are permitted to take from 54 to 97 days. Moreover, due to the recent legislative frenzy, education has been made compulsory till the age of 18.