Israelis are the happiest they’ve been in over a decade, the World Happiness rankings revealed.
Israel’s 2023 fourth-place ranking, up from ninth last year, is its highest position since the UN-sponsored index began publication in 2012.
The list crowned Finland as the world’s happiest country for the sixth year running, with Afghanistan again the unhappiest, closely succeeded by Lebanon.
Northern Europeans once again dominated the top spots - with the Finns, Danes and Icelanders forming the top three.
The Netherlands (No. 5), Switzerland (No. 8), Luxembourg (No. 9) and New Zealand (No. 10) round out the top 10. Australia (No. 12), Canada (No. 13), Ireland (No. 14), the United States (No. 15) and the United Kingdom (No. 19) all made it into the top 20.
Russia was placed 70th.
The World Happiness Report, now in its 11th year, is based on residents of 137 countries’ own assessment of their situation, as well as economic and social data. It assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to 10, based on an average of data collected over a three-year period.
