The world's 10 happiest ｃountries
The 2018 World Happiness Report, which ranks 156 ｃountries based on their “happiness levels” scored across six factors including "gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption", has been released today. For the first time this year, the annual listing published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has also evaluated 117 ｃountries according to the happiness levels of their immigrants.
So which have made this year’s cut? Here we ｃount down the top 10 most cheerful nations.
10. Australia
Home to the world's largest coral reef system, The Great Barrier Reef, pristine beaches and consistently warm temperatures, Australia is one of the world's most popular destinations -but ｄropped one place from last year's happiness rankings.
9. Sweden
Sweden climbed one spot up to ninth place this year. Andrew Stone, Telegraph Travel's Scandinavia expert, says it has a bit of what all its Nordic neighbours have, including "Copenhagen's urban cool and Norway's mountains, as well as forest, lakes, pretty Baltic ports and islands. It also has Stockholm, perhaps the loveliest city in the whole of Scandinavia."
Traditionally the global index has been dominated by Europe’s Nordic ｃountries. The five Nordic ｃountries that continually score high in the ranking “are doing something right in terms of creating good conditions for good lives,” noted Meik Wiking, CEO of the Copenhagen-based Happiness Research Institute.
"Briefly put, [Nordic ｃountries] are good at converting wealth into well-being,” he explains.
8. New Zealand
Our readers' favourite ｃountry for the fifth consecutive year, according to the latest Telegraph Travel Awards, New Zealand stayed firm at number eight in the happiness rankings.
Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, explained the appeal of the ｃountry's landscapes in his book, Last Chance to See: "One's first impulse, standing on a clifftop surveying it all, is simply to burst into spontaneous applause." It also has marine volcanoes, one of the world's most scenic rail journeys, sperm whales, some marvellous wines and caves lit by glow worms.
7. Canada
Canada remained at seventh in this year's World Happiness Report, no doubt helped by its high life expectancy, laidback lifestyle and exquisite scenery.
6. Netherlands
The Netherlands is down from the high of fourth place it achieved in the 2013 World Happiness Report, and has remained in sixth place this year. But it is still smiling - no doubt helped by its liberal policies, thriving bike culture (because everyone's happier on a bike) and pretty aesthetics.
5. Switzerland
Number one in 2015, Switzerland has fallen to fifth (ｄropping from fourth last year), but still has good reason to be smug. The average life expectancy is 82.8 they are multilingual, with most citizens understanding German, French and English they have glorious landscapes encompassing thick forest, wide lake and handsome railway lines.
It’s also the "most competitive ｃountry in the world", according to the latest listing by the World Economic Forum, thanks to its "effective institutions sound and healthy public finances an attractive tax regime excellent infrastructure and connectivity and world-class education system".
4. Iceland
Dropping one place to fourth this year is Iceland. Offering a relatively low income tax, free health care and free higher education to its citizens, the island nation was also rated to be the most peaceful nation on Earth on last yaer’s Global Peace Index, endorsed by pacifists such as Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, and archbishop Desmond Tutu. The ｃountry has seen more than quadruple the number of annual foreign visitors arriving on its shores in just six years.
3. Denmark
The number one happiest nation of 2016 fell to second in 2017 and another slot in this year’s ranking, but still going strong among the top three. Denmark’s success can be attributed to its good life expectancy (80 years, well above the global average of 71), free/tax-financed health care, and enviable welfare system, which has made its wealth gap one of the world’s smallest.
But it has also been suggested in the past that Danes are genetically happier than people from other ｃountries. In 2014 research by the University of Warwick suggested that “the greater a nation's genetic distance from Denmark, the lower the reported well-being of that nation.”
2. Norway
Last year’s happiest ｃountry has gone from strength to strength, coming in at second this year and fourth in the 2016 World Happiness Report. Why? Being Europe's most beautiful ｃountry must help, but it also ranks highly for social capital, gender equality and redheads. The ｃountry has also topped the Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index for two years in both 2013 and 2014.
1. Finland
Usurping its Scandinavian neighbour Norway, which bagged last year’s top ranking, Europe's eighth largest ｃountry climbed four spots from fifth place last year. The ｃountry has also been previously ranked among the ｃountries with the highest quality of life by the Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index and among the most peaceful ｃountries in the world by the Global Peace Index.
The ｃountry of about 5.5 million people is home to around 300,000 foreign nationals, with its largest immigrant groups being from other European nations. It also houses communities from Afghanistan, China, Iraq and Somalia.
"The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born,” John Helliwell, a co-editor of the report, said. “Those who move to happier ｃountries gain, while those who move to less happy ｃountries lose.”
Finland’s other accolades include the lowest overall threat level (in terms of medical risks, security and road safety), plenty of green credentials and more forest per square mile than any ｃountry in Europe.
Article Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/worlds-happiest-ｃountries/
Image Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2017/March/castle-savonlinna-finland.jpg?imwidth=450
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Spontaneous (adj.) ~ performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus
2. Scenic (adj.) ~ providing or relating to views of impressive or beautiful natural scenery
3. Aesthetic (adj.) ~ concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
4. Smug (adj.) ~ having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements
5. Attribute (v.) ~ regard something as being caused by (someone or something)
6. Accolade (n.) ~ an award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What are the various factors that affect the happiness level of people in a ｃountry?
2. From ranking 56 last year, your ｃountry has fallen to 57 this year. What do you think contributed the most to this decline?
3. If you would rate the happiness level of the people in your ｃountry, what would it be? Explain your rating.
