(CNN) – To say that the past year has been a difficult year for people all over the world is something of an understatement.
Not only did the Covid-19 pandemic kill more than 2.6 million people worldwide, it also led to a massive upheaval in everyday life for many of us.
But despite the devastating events of the past twelve months and the consequent decline in mental health in a number of destinations, there has been no change to the top spot when it comes to the happiest country in the world.
For the fourth consecutive year, Finland topped the annual list, powered by data from the Gallup World Poll, with Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands in second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively.
While the United States moved up from 18th to 14th place and the United Kingdom dropped from 13th to 18th place, Australia finished 12th.
“We urgently need to learn from Covid-19,” said Jeffrey Sachs, co-editor of the report, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.
“The pandemic reminds us of our global threats to the environment, the urgent need to work together and the difficulties of working together in every country and worldwide.”
Movers and shakers
Iceland has been named the second happiest country in the world.
HALLDOR KOLBEINS / AFP via Getty Images
Not only were researchers unable to complete face-to-face interviews in a number of countries, but they also had to change things completely by focusing on the relationship between well-being and Covid-19.
The report is mainly based on levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption income since its launch in 2012.
Although there have been some changes in the top 10, with Iceland dropping two places from fourth to second on the list and Norway dropping from fifth to eighth, the rankings were mostly as striking as the previous year, which is considered a positive sign.
“Surprisingly, on average, there was no decrease in well-being when measured by people’s own evaluation of their lives,” John Helliwell, a professor at the University of British Columbia, also contributed to the report.
“One possible explanation is that people view Covid-19 as a general external threat that affects everyone and that it causes a greater sense of solidarity and compassion.”
Other notable moves on the list include Germany, which has jumped from 17th to seventh place in the past year.
Croatia, which was one of the destinations where face-to-face interviews could take place, rose from number 79 to 23 on the list.
Confidence factor
The Scandinavian country Norway came in 8th place, just above New Zealand.
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Researchers say it is no surprise that Finland has retained the top position again, as the Nordic country has always held a high position in terms of mutual trust.
Trust is recognized as one of the most important factors that helped protect people during the pandemic, as well as trust in governments.
Brazil’s mortality rate, for example, was significantly higher than that of Singapore, which the report partly attributes to the difference in public confidence in the governments of each country.
It is also noted that the Americas and Europe had much higher Covid-19 deaths than East Asia, Australasia and Africa.
The report suggests that the average age of a country’s population, whether it is an island, and the proximity to other countries that are highly infected, have contributed factors to the difference in mortality rates worldwide.
Strikingly, cultural differences, such as whether the head of government was a woman, are also noted as important considerations in measuring the success of Covid-19 strategies, along with income inequality and knowledge gained from previous epidemics.
“The East Asian experience shows that strict government policies not only effectively control Covid-19, but also inflate the negative impact of daily infections on people’s happiness,” said Shun Wang, a correspondent for the Korea Development Institute.
Significant impact on welfare
Austria has rounded out the top 10 of the happiest countries in the world.
ALEX HALADA / AFP via Getty Images
As a result, the report found that the decline in mental health was immediate in many countries, including the United Kingdom, where the number of mental health problems in May 2020 was 47% higher than predicted before Covid-19.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the World Happiness Report 2021 also found that affiliation and social distance greatly affected the well-being of the workforce.
According to the data collected, those who said at the beginning of the pandemic that they were lonely, could not work due to work or redundancy, became 43% less happy than those who initially did not feel lonely.
“My previous research has shown how happy workers are 13% more productive,” said Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Center at Oxford University, another contributor to the report.
“This paper proves that happiness is not driven by payment, and that social connections and a sense of identity are more important.
“These findings point to a ‘hybrid’ future of work, with a balance between office life and work from home to maintain social ties while working smoothly.”
Of the 149 countries featured in the report, Afghanistan is again the most unhappy, followed by Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana.
Those at the bottom of the list were mainly underdeveloped countries where issues such as political and armed conflict are common, or in recent times.
“It has been a very challenging year, but the early data also show some noticeable signs of resilience in feelings of social commitment and life evaluations,” says Professor Lara Aknin of Simon Fraser University.
World’s happiest countries 2021
1. Finland
2. Iceland
3. Denmark
4. Switzerland
5. The 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