Q: A recent article in the paper listed Norway as the happiest country on earth. It also states that the United States was 13th but is now 14. Which country moved up a ranking, and if possible, I would like to know all 14 of the rankings as far as happiness is concerned.
—Gerald Wade, Stockbridge
A: The World Happiness Report 2017, released March 20 at the United Nations, ranks 155 countries.
The top 25 happiest countries on earth, according to the report, are:
- Norway; 2. Denmark; 3. Iceland; 4. Switzerland; 5. Finland;
6. Netherlands; 7. Canada; 8. New Zealand; 9. Australia; 10. Sweden;
11. Israel; 12. Costa Rica; 13. Austria; 14. United States; 15. Ireland;
16. Germany; 17. Belgium; 18. Luxembourg; 19. United Kingdom; 20. Chile;
21. United Arab Emirates; 22. Brazil; 23. Czech Republic; 24. Argentina; 25. Mexico
Norway moved up three spots from the 2016 report. Denmark had held the No. 1 spot for three out of the last four years.
Costa Rica was 14th in the 2016 report, but moved into the 12th spot in the 2017 report. Austria, which was 12th in the 2016 report, and the U.S., which was 13th in the 2016 report, both moved down a spot in the most recent report.
The top four countries are “clustered so tightly that the differences among them are not statistically significant,” the report says.
The 2017 report was the fifth World Happiness Report to be released since 2012.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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