While Walt Disney branded his eponymous theme park the Happiest Place on Earth, an annual ranking of the countries of the world notes that Finland is the place to be.
Again.
For the sixth year in a row, the country topped 150 others in the World Happiness Report, which cites the country’s freedom, generosity, income, social support and — a true rarity — a corruption-free government as reasons why Finland is so danged pleasant to be around.
Both physical and financial safety are also key. Lecturer Frank Martela of Finland’s Aalto University noted, “Things like relatively generous unemployment benefits and nearly free healthcare help mitigate sources of unhappiness, ensuring that there are fewer people in Finland who are highly unsatisfied with their lives.”
Denmark was ranked the second-happiest country on Earth, followed by Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands to round out the top 5.
The U.S. ranked #15; perhaps not surprisingly, Afghanistan ranked as the Least Happy Country, as the Taliban aren’t known to be a barrel of laughs.