CREDIT: ISTOCK (CGINSPIRATION)
Canada flies high in the list of happiest countries in the world.

The United Nation’s World Happiness Report was released on International Day of Happiness, March 20, 2019.

It was released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and ranks countries on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.

Canada ranked at the ninth spot out of a total of 156 countries that are judged by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. Finland took the first spot for the second consecutive time followed by Denmark at second position and Norway at third. Eight out of the top ten countries were European and the other two non-European countries were Canada and New Zealand (which ranked eight).

Canada fell two spots from last year’s seventh place and our next door neighbours, USA, came in at number 19. Wonder why, eh? This report also reveals that overall world happiness has dropped severely over the years, which has been fueled by population growth and growing tensions amongst nations. Another country that dropped many ranks this year is India coming in at rank 140 from 133 in 2018.

No other superpowers made it into the top 10 rankings, either. The United Kingdom came in 15th place, up from 18th place, while Germany came in 17th place, down from 15th. Japan came in 58th place (down from 54th), Russia came in 68th place (down from 59th) and China came in 93rd place (down from 86th).

The top ten happiest countries are Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Austria. Out of the bottom ten countries in the index, six are African nations. South Sudan is the least happy country, followed by Central African Republic and Afghanistan.

Canada could come off as cold and boring. But, it’s truly not. It has plenty to explore and the growing population of immigrants coming in helps add to the culturally diversity of the country. You also get to experience all four seasons in the year (yes, we know winter is long and harsh) and also explore so many beautiful and natural sites. Since summer is just around the corner we suggest you start making plans and ticking things off your Canadian bucket list.