In today's fast-paced life, stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction are increasing in society, making genuine laughter rare. However, one country continues to remain as happy as ever. For the eighth consecutive time, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world. On the occasion of International Happiness Day, the Well-Being Research Center at Oxford University released the World Happiness Report, in which Finland once again secured the top position. Other Nordic countries, including Denmark (2nd), Iceland (3rd), and Sweden (4th), followed closely behind.

This year, India secured the 118th rank in the happiness index. Last year, India was ranked 126th, meaning it has climbed six places this time. The report mentioned that China (68th) and Pakistan (109th) performed better than India in this ranking. Meanwhile, the United States ranked 24th. Interestingly, 12 years ago, the U.S. was ranked 11th, but since then, its ranking has steadily declined. The rankings were determined based on factors like wealth, economic growth, social relationships, trust among people, life satisfaction, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption levels.

Key highlights of the report include Israel securing the 8th position despite ongoing war with Hamas. Costa Rica (6th) and Mexico (10th) entered the top 10 for the first time. The United Kingdom ranked 23rd, while the United States stood at 24th. The report highlighted that in the past two decades, the number of people in the U.S. eating meals alone has increased by 53%. Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, remained at the bottom of the happiness index. The top 10 happiest countries included the Netherlands (5th), Costa Rica (6th), Norway (7th), Israel (8th), Luxembourg (9th), and Mexico (10th).