Norway is the happiest country on Earth, according to the 2017 World Happiness Report, an annual ranking of 155 countries published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a United Nations initiative. The Scandinavian country unseated Denmark for the top spot.
Six key variables are then used to explain those happiness scores, according to the report: “income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust, with the latter measured by the absence of corruption in business and government.”
The United States fell in at No. 14, down a spot from last year. The U.S. has never cracked the top 10 since the rankings were first published in 2012, when it came in at No. 11. American citizens are reporting less social support, less sense of personal freedom, lower donations and more perceived corruption of government and business.