World's happiest countries for 2022 named - Property News AU/NZ | propertynoise.co.nz & propertynoise.com.au

PHOTO: Byron Bay, Australia. FILE. Australia doesn’t make it into the TOP 10

If you want to visit the happiest nation on Earth, you’ll have to travel to the opposite side of the globe.

Though you may not need to pack your bags just yet, with Australia also ranking near the top of the world’s happiest countries list of 146 nations in the World Happiness Report for 2022.

The annual report from the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, now in its 10th year, factors in such variables as income, healthy life expectancy, generosity, freedom, trust and social support in the final tally.

Australia ranked higher than some similar nations including Canada (15th), the United States (16th) and the United Kingdom (17th).

Australia’s ranking hasn’t changed in the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, despite tough control measures including border closures and extended lockdowns.

Finland has taken the top spot for the fifth year running, with Nordic nations dominating the top 10.

Rounding out the top five were Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Real estate agent numbers at all-time high | Will 2022 see a big exit? (WATCH)

Afghanistan landed on the very bottom of the list, behind Lebanon and Zimbabwe.

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the wellbeing research centre at the Oxford University, said the bottom-ranked countries shared similar characteristics.

“At the very bottom of the ranking we find societies that suffer from conflict and extreme poverty, notably we find that people in Afghanistan evaluate the quality of their own lives as merely 2.4 out of 10,” he said.

“This presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims and the fundamental importance of peace and stability for human well-being.”

Researchers noted a rise of more than 25 per cent in benevolent acts across the globe, compared to pre-pandemic levels, led by the helping of strangers.

“COVID-19 is the biggest health crisis we’ve seen in more than a century,” said report co-author Professor John Helliwell from the University of British Columbia.

“Now that we have two years of evidence, we are able to assess not just the importance of benevolence and trust, but to see how they have contributed to well-being during the pandemic.”

There was also strong growth in donations and volunteering during this period.

“The COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 has led to a 2021 pandemic of benevolence with equally global spread,” the report read.

“All must hope that the pandemic of benevolence will live far beyond COVID-19. If sustainable, this outpouring of kindness provides grounds for hope and optimism in a world needing more of both.”

Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs said that during a time of pandemic and war, more effort is needed for global governments to put happiness at the heart of their development agenda.

“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,” he said.

“World leaders should take heed. Politics should be directed as the great sages long ago insisted: to the well-being of the people, not the power of the rulers.”