The United Nations released its annual "World Happiness 2018" report March 14, which aims to survey the state of global happiness.
For the report, jointly compiled by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Global Happiness Council, researchers ranked 156 countries by asking participants to evaluate their current lives on a scale of 0 to 10 across six variables — income, life expectancy, freedom, social support, trust and generosity — and averaged the scores across a two-year period from 2015 through 2017.
Researchers also ranked 117 countries by their immigrants' happiness.
Here are the top 10 happiest countries in the world, along with their average scores, according to the report.
- Finland — 7.632
- Norway — 7.594
- Denmark — 7.555
- Iceland — 7.495
- Switzerland — 7.487
- Netherlands — 7.441
- Canada — 7.328
- New Zealand — 7.324
- Sweden — 7.314
- Australia — 7.272
Here are the 10 least happy countries in the world, along with their average scores.
- Burundi — 2.905
- Central African Republic — 3.083
- South Sudan — 3.254
- Tanzania — 3.303
- Yemen — 3.355
- Rwanda — 3.408
- Syria — 3.462
- Liberia —3.495
- Haiti — 3.582
- Malawi — 3.587
The U.S. ranked 18th on the list, with an average score of 6.886. The U.K. came just behind at 19th, with an average score of 6.814.
To access the full report, click here.