Report Lists Happiest Countries in the World During the Pandemic

Topping the list of happiest countries in the world is Finland

The past year has been difficult for most of us. The COVID-19 pandemic took 2.6 million lives and has restricted people to their homes. It has also triggered mental health issues and made people feel lonely and sad. Despite all this, people in many countries have managed to remain optimistic and happy. It was unveiled via a report that listed the happiest countries in the world during the pandemic.

Topping the list of happiest countries in the world is Finland, a fourth-time winner. It is followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Switzerland, bagging the second, third, and fourth spots. The Netherlands has bagged the fifth spot. The UK has dropped from 13^th to 18th, and the US moved from the 18^th to the 14^th. Australia held its spot at no. 12.

Gallup World Poll prepared this list of happiest countries in the world during the pandemic. The co-editor of the report, Jeffrey Sachs, who also serves as a professor and the director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said, “We need urgently to learn from COVID-19. The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally.”

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the World Happiness Report 2021 that lists the happiest countries has been collated differently from before. The researchers were not able to conduct face-to-face interviews in many nations. Also, the focus was on the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the well-being of the individuals.

The report that lists the happiest countries in the world during the pandemic is based on life expectancy, GDP levels, social support, generosity, freedom, and corruption income. Most of the results were similar to last year, which is a positive sign.

Researchers also highlighted that Finland bagging the top spot was not a surprise as the country has always ranked high as there is a lot of mutual trust. The report highlighting the happiest countries also noted that Europe has higher COVID-19 fatalities as compared to Australasia, Africa, and East Asia. Read the entire list below: