The US appears to be getting happier.
The annual World Happiness Report for 2022 was released Friday, and according to the ranking, the U.S. moved up three spots from last year.
In 2021, the U.S. was ranked as the 19th happiest country in the world, Fox News Digital reported at the time. This year, the U.S. is ranked as the 16th happiest country in the world out of 146 countries.
Meanwhile, Finland has continued to sustain its position as the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.
Denmark follows Finland in second place, followed by Iceland in third, Switzerland in fourth and the Netherlands in fifth place.
Luxembourg was ranked as the sixth-happiest country, followed by Sweden, Norway, Israel and in 10th place, New Zealand.
For its annual ranking, World Happiness Report uses “global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries,” according to a press release.
To make sure the report is more accurate and has an increased sample size, the World Happiness Report uses data from the previous three years, the release said.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report.
Jeffrey Sachs, one of the editors of the report, said in a statement that the World Happiness Report was created out of a “worldwide determination to find the path to greater global well-being” that started with a UN General Assembly resolution a decade ago.
“Now, at a time of pandemic and war, we need such an effort more than ever,” Sachs said. “And the lesson of the World Happiness Report over the years is that social support, generosity to one another, and honesty in government are crucial for well-being.”
“World leaders should take heed,” Sachs added. “Politics should be directed as the great sages long ago insisted: to the well-being of the people, not the power of the rulers.”
John Helliwell, another World Happiness Report editor, said that over the last two years during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers have found that “benevolence and trust” have “contributed to well-being during the pandemic.”
“We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll,” Helliwell said. “Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence.”
“This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves,” Helliwell added.