Finland once again defended its coveted title of happiest country in the world. It is the fourth consecutive year that the Nordic nation has won first place, even in the midst of a pandemic that has shaken the world.
Despite the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in all areas of life, many of the top-ranked countries in terms of overall happiness remained at the top of the list, according to the 2021 World Happiness Report, released Friday, the day before of the International Day of Happiness.
The report focuses mainly on the relationship between welfare and the pandemic, which makes collecting responses around the world particularly challenging. The editors note that, in addition to the terrible 2.6 million deaths caused by the pandemic worldwide, people around the world are also dealing with greater economic insecurity, anxiety, stress, mental and physical health challenges and a general disruption of all aspects of daily life.
“This year’s Happiness Report was faced with the unique challenge of trying to understand the effect the pandemic had on subjective well-being and vice versa,” the organization behind the report said in a statement. “Of all the factors that generally support happiness, the most important factor in explaining COVID-19’s death rates was people’s trust in each other and trust in their governments.”
That confidence, say the report’s editors, is one of the main reasons why Finland remains No. 1.
“Surprisingly, there was, on average, a decline in well-being when measured by people’s own assessment of their lives,” said editor John Helliwell. “One possible explanation is that people see COVID-19 as a common external threat that affects everyone and that it has generated a greater sense of solidarity and solidarity.”
The USA ranked 14th on this year’s list.
The report sought to address a key issue that separates the Americas and East Asian Europe, Australia and Africa: “Why do COVID-19 vary in death rates around the world?”
Some of the factors that can help explain this variation include the age of the population, whether the country is an island and the proximity of other countries with high rates of infection. Cultural differences also played a crucial role, including confidence in public institutions, historical knowledge of past epidemics, income inequality, whether the nation’s leader is a woman and even whether lost wallets in the community would likely be returned.
The report emphasized that pandemic policies can be equally effective when citizens obey, as tends to be the case in East Asia, or more freedom-oriented, as in Australia and New Zealand. The evidence has shown that morale improves when governments act.
“The East Asian experience shows that strict government policies not only effectively control Covid-19, but also cushion the negative impact of daily infections on people’s happiness,” said editor Shun Wang.
As one of the main victims of the pandemic and resulting roadblocks, mental health it was also a key factor. For example, the researchers found that general mental health problems were 47% greater in the UK in May 2020, a few months after the pandemic began.
“The 2021 World Happiness Report reminds us that we should aim for well-being and not mere wealth, which will be fleeting if we don’t do a much better job of meeting the challenges of sustainable development,” said the report’s co-editor. , Jeffrey Sachs. .
As was to be expected, the pandemic has also strongly affected well-being in the workplace, another measure of general happiness. Losing a job during the pandemic was associated with a 12% drop in life satisfaction, according to the report, which also predicts that the move to remote work is likely to last.
“Surprisingly, we found that among people who stopped working due to leave or redundancy, the impact on life satisfaction was 40% more severe for individuals who felt lonely at first,” said editor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve. “Our report also points to a ‘hybrid’ future of work, which strikes a balance between office life and working at home to maintain social connections, ensuring flexibility for workers, who end up being the main drivers of well-being in the workplace. “
Happiest countries in the world 2021
- Finland
- Iceland
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Germany
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Israel
- Australia
- Ireland
- United States
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Belgium
- UK
- China
- France