On International Day of Happiness, here are the top 20 happiest countries

The past 12 months were tough for people around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic not only killed millions but also resulted in a decline in mental health. However, despite this, several countries managed to retain their top spots in the annual list of happiest countries in the world. 

This year’s World Happiness Report 2021 was issued by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Friday and ranked the world’s 149 countries on “how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be”.

“Our aim was two-fold, first to focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the structure and quality of people’s lives, and second to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world have dealt with the pandemic. In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others,” the organisation said in a statement, PTI reported. 

The following are the countries that made it to the top 20 – 

1. Finland
2. Iceland
3. Denmark
4. Switzerland
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. Norway
9. New Zealand
10. Austria
11. Israel
12. Australia
13. Ireland
14. United States
15. Canada
16. Czech Republic
17. Belgium
18. United Kingdom
19. China
20. France

India, which was ranked 140th in 2019, was on the 139th spot in this year’s list.