UN study: Lithuania among 20 happiest countries in world

  • 2023-03-20
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS - Lithuania ranks 20th and is the happiest country among its neighbors, according to a new UN)report published on Monday.

Lithuania ranks 20th and is ahead of Poland (39), Estonia (31) and Latvia (41), according to the World Happiness Report. Ukraine ranks 92nd and Russia is 70th.

Published by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network since 2012, the index ranks over 150 countries in terms of how happy their citizens are. Data for this year's World Happiness Index was collected between 2020 and 2022.

The ranking is based on a variety of factors, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.

The report notes that Lithuania has risen steadily in the rankings over the last six years. The country ranked 52nd in 2017.

"Finland continues to occupy the top spot, for the sixth year in a row“, – the report reads.

It also adds that the rest of the top 20 include the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania, 18th to 20th. The same countries tend to appear in the top twenty year after year, with 19 of this year’s top 20 also being there last year. The exception is Lithuania, which

has steadily risen over the past six years, from 52nd in 2017 to 20th this year.

The index shows that other Nordic countries are also doing well, with Denmark and Iceland following Finland on the list.

Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands and New Zealand are also in the top 10.

Afghanistan has the least happy population.