Which country is the happiest country in the world in 2022? According to the World Happiness Report 2022 prepared by the United Nations (UN), Finland is the happiest country in the world for the fifth consecutive year. Where does Portugal rank in happiness? Is Portugal a happy country? Portugal climbed up the ranking again and now appears in 56th position, among the 146 countries on the list.
The ranking of the happiest countries in the world is drawn up based on six criteria: GDP per capita, the expectation of a healthy life, social support, individual freedom, generosity and the perception of corruption. According to the World Happiness Report 2022, "overall assessment levels remained fairly stable during the two years of COVID-19, accompanied by modest changes in the overall rankings."
Finland remains in first position for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Denmark in 2nd place. In total, there are five Nordic countries in the top eight positions, accompanied by Switzerland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Israel and New Zealand are also in the Top 10.
France achieved its highest ranking to date, in 20th place, while Canada fell to its lowest ranking ever (15th), just behind Germany in 14th, closely followed by the US and the UK in 16th and 17th place respectively. Portugal, meanwhile, is the 56th happiest country in the world, moving up three places from last year. Portugal has also recently been named one of the best places in the world to retire, while Lisbon and Porto have also taken home various awards.
"Consistent with the trend of happiness convergence between Eastern and Western Europe, the three countries with the highest growth in average quality of life over the past 10 years were Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, with average gains of 1.4 points on a scale of 0 to 10," the document reads.
In addition, and overall, "positive emotions have been twice as prevalent as negative emotions". But this gap has narrowed over the last ten years, with joy and laughter on a negative trend in most regions and worry, stress and sadness on an increasing trend (with the general exception of Central and Eastern Europe). In the last decade, the upward trend in worry and sadness was greatest in South Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.
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