Last month, I came across an online course offered by Yale University, “The Science of Well Being“. It is highly recommended by a lot of articles and now I can understand why.
It proved to be one of the most eye-opening courses I have ever taken.
Coincidentally, the World Happiness Report 2020 was published on March 2020. Thus it was a great opportunity to take a deeper look on which countries are the most and the least happy across the world.
Below, you can find some of my most useful findings. Enjoy!
Which are the most happy countries?
Clearly, Europe is the most happy continent of all. The Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) have the highest happiness scores. Moreover, other European countries such as Switzerland, Austria & the Netherlands score high as well.
Both Australia and North America have two countries in this list, New Zealand & Australia and Canada & United States respectively. Also, Asia and South America have one representative each, Israel and Costa Rica.
Which are the least happy countries?
As we can see, Africa is the least happy continent globally, having sixteen out of the twenty countries with the lowest happiness score.
Asia has three countries in this list, including the least happy country worldwide, Afghanistan.
South America has a representative as well, Haiti. A few years ago, the country that has been hit by a deadly earthquake.
Which are the most happy cities?
For third consecutive year, Helsinki is the happiest city in the world.
The majority of the most happy cities are located either in Europe (Aarhus, Zurich, Stockholm, Reykjavik) or in Australia (Wellington, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth).
Israel’s capital Tel Aviv ranks eighth in the list with the most happy cities. Costa Rica’s San Jose, Canada’s Toronto and USA’s Washington & Dallas score high in happiness as well.
Which are the least happy cities?
Not surprisingly, Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, is the least happy city in the world, followed by another two war-stricken cities, Sanaa and Gaza. The above list is mostly filled with African cities (Cairo, Khartoum) and a South-American one, the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince.
Which regions of Europe are the most and least happy?
It is clear that the Nordics are the happiest region of Europe.
The big European countries, UK, France and Germany rank high. Italy and Spain are in the middle of the pack.
On the other hand, the least happy countries are Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Which cities of Europe are the most and least happy?
We have already seen that Helsinki is the most happy city in Europe.
However, let’s focus on the least happy cities of Europe. Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is the least happy city in Europe.
Moreover, Pristine (Kosovo), Tirana (Albania), Skopje (North Macedonia) and Athens (Greece) score low in happiness.
Conclusion
Happiness is different from continent to continent. There are favorites (Europe, Australia) and underdogs (Africa, Asia). In any case, we should keep in mind that happiness is difficult to be measured.
If you want to take a more detailed look to World Happiness Report 2020, click here.
Until the next time, stay safe and stay happy!