For the second year in a row, Finland is the happiest country in the world, while Croatia ranked 75th out of 156 countries covered by the annual UN World Happiness Report for 2019, published last week ahead of March 20, World Happiness Day.
The annual report, published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, is based on residents’ ratings of their own lives, and the ranking of countries according to six variables – income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
Nordic countries top the list, with Finland followed by Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The top ten also include the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, and Austria.
This year, Croatia ranked 75th, which is a jump from 2018, when it was 82nd. The only country in the region whose residents consider themselves less happy is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ranked 78th.
Italy ranked 36th, Slovenia 44th, Kosovo 46th, Hungary 62nd, Serbia 70th, and Montenegro 73rd.
The biggest declines over the last ten years were recorded in Yemen, India, Syria, Botswana, and Venezuela.
At the bottom of the list is South Sudan, along with Rwanda, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and Central African Republic.