(JNS) Israel is the fifth happiest place on Earth, according to the World Happiness Report 2024, released on Wednesday.
The findings are powered by data from the Gallup World Poll and based on six factors—social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.
Finland topped the list for the seventh successive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel, which dropped one position compared to 2023. Rounding out the Top 10 were the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.
The UK placed 20th in the list, just above Slovenia and the UAE.
The United States (23) dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the well-being of Americans under 30.
Afghanistan was ranked the least happiest country in the world.
“The broad country coverage and annual surveys of the Gallup World Poll provide an unmatched source of data about the quality of lives all over the globe. There are now enough years of data, going back to 2006, to enable us this year to plausibly separate age and generational patterns for happiness,” said Professor John F. Helliwell, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report.
The report was released to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, which was established when the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/281 in June 2012.
