Calgary 
Canadians are happier than the previous year, finds the 2023 edition of the World Happiness Report.
The World Happiness Report highlights the state of happiness across the world and is based on life evaluations based on six factors from the Gallup World Poll, which asks individuals to rate their own current lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best possible life and 0 being the worst.
The six variables the report uses to explain the variation in happiness across countries are GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. However, the happiness rankings are not based on any index of these factors but are instead based on individuals’ assessments of their lives from 2020 to 2022.
According to World Happiness Report, Canada is the 13th happiest country, up two places from last year’s lowest-ever ranking since the first report in 2012.
Finland continues to hold the top spot for the sixth year in a row, with a score significantly higher than all other countries. Denmark retains its second spot, followed by Iceland and Israel in the third and fourth positions, respectively. The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland fill the 5th to 8th positions, while Luxembourg and New Zealand round out the top ten.
Austria and Australia follow in 11th and 12th positions.
Ireland, the United States, Germany, and Belgium fill the next four positions, following Canada at 13, all securely within the top twenty. The rest of the top twenty includes Czechia, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania. The top twenty tends to feature the same countries year after year, with the exception of Lithuania, which has steadily risen in the rankings over the past six years.
Top twenty happiest countries – 2023:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Luxembourg
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Australia
- Canada
- Ireland
- United States
- Germany
- Belgium
- Czechia
- United Kingdom
- Lithuania
However, not all countries fare well in the Happiness Report. Afghanistan is in the last position, with Lebanon in the second-to-last position. These countries face significant challenges, including political instability, conflict, and economic hardship, which negatively impact the happiness and well-being of their populations.
Bottom 10 countries – 2023
- Afghanistan
- Lebanon
- Sierra Leone
- Zimbabwe
- Congo
- Botswana
- Malawi
- Comoros
- Tanzania
- Zambia
The latest Happiness Report finds that despite the overlapping crises in recent years, most populations worldwide have shown remarkable resilience, with global life satisfaction averages in the COVID-19 years just as high as those in the pre-pandemic years.
