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  5. Finland has been named the happiest country for the 6th year running. Here are the 10 happiest countries in the world, ranked.

Finland has been named the happiest country for the 6th year running. Here are the 10 happiest countries in the world, ranked.

Beatrice Nolan   

Finland has been named the happiest country for the 6th year running. Here are the 10 happiest countries in the world, ranked.
Helsinki, Finland. The Nordic country claimed the top spot for the sixth year running.Lingxiao Xie/Getty Images
  • The World Happiness Report released its yearly rankings of the happiest countries this week.
  • Most of the top 10 countries were in Europe, with Nordic nations claiming the top three spots.

The World Happiness Report released its annual rankings of the happiest countries this week, and most of the top 10 spots were European.

Finland claimed first place for the sixth year running with a score "significantly ahead of all other countries," according to the report. The remaining Nordic countries — Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark – also made it into the top 10, ranking seventh, sixth, third, and second respectively.

The report, published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network but written by a team of independent experts, relies heavily on Gallup world survey data.

To help with the rankings, experts measure countries on six factors: income, health, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom to make life decisions, generosity, and the absence of corruption. The report also looked at the happiness gap between the top and bottom halves of the population to factor in inequality.

The US didn't make it into the top 10 but was ranked the fifteenth happiest country overall.

10. New Zealand

10. New Zealand
Mount Cook National Park in the South Island, New Zealand.      Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images

9. Luxembourg

9. Luxembourg
Vianden, Luxembourg.      Reuben Atienza / EyeEm via Getty Images

8. Switzerland

8. Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland.      Boxun Liu / EyeEm / Getty Images

7. Norway

7. Norway
A fjord in Norway, with the Norwegian flag in the foreground.      Graeme Maclean/Creative Commons

6. Sweden

6. Sweden
Skyline view of Stockholm City, Sweden.      K'Nub/Getty Images

5. Netherlands

5. Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands.      George Pachantouris/Getty Images

4. Israel

4. Israel
A view from the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem, Israel.      Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

3. Iceland

3. Iceland
Blue Lagoon, Grindavík, Iceland.      Getty/VW Pics

2. Denmark

2. Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark.      Scott E Barbour/Getty Images

1. Finland

1. Finland
Helsinki, Finland.      Getty Images

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