It becomes a habit! Finland, for the fourth year in a row, was named on Friday March 19, 2021 the "happiest country in the world". According to a classification established by the United Nations (UN) on the occasion of the holding on Saturday, March 20 of the ninth international day of happiness, the Nordic country which, with a score of 7.84 / 10, ahead of Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands, is the one where it is best to live. This note on ten points takes several elements into account: the level of happiness of the citizens crossed with the GDP of the country, but also of the evaluations concerning the level of solidarity, individual freedom and corruption specific to each nation. A new factor, however, counted in the final ranking: the coronavirus pandemic. In a third of the countries included in the ranking, the appearance of Covid-19 has caused a "significantly higher frequency of negative emotions". However, in the 20 or so countries where the virus has not been as devastating as elsewhere, this indicator has had little impact.
Germany, UK and Belgium ranked higher than France
But where is France in this ranking? The Hexagon, which experienced two confinements between March and May 2020 then between the end of October and the end of December 2020, and which on March 18, 2021 established a third confinement in sixteen departments, is far from the top 5. Indeed, the country of the Enlightenment must be satisfied with the twenty-first place in the ranking of "happiest country in the world". However, despite the difficult year that has just passed and the more than 90,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, France gains two places compared to the study published in 2020. In Europe, ahead of France, we find Germany (in 13th position), the United Kingdom (17th) and Belgium (20th). Behind, Spain and Italy are doing a little less well, in 27th and 28th place respectively. Finally, according to the study, "the least happy country in the world" is Afghanistan, which only scores 2.52 / 10.
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