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By David Opinko

Canada falls out of top 10 in World Happiness Report

Mar 22, 2021 | 12:41 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – While many would still agree that Canada is overall a great country to live in, it is no longer in the upper echelon for citizen happiness.

That’s according to the 2021 World Happiness Report (WHR) from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Canada’s 2020 score places the country in 15th place for happiness.

The Great White North fell from the 10th spot in previous rankings.

Our neighbours to the south were put one spot ahead of Canada after several years of being lower.

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Much of the top 10 came from Europe with Finland once again topping the list.

The 15 happiest countries in the world, with the 2017-19 average score in brackets, are as follows:

1. Finland (1)
2. Iceland (4)
3. Denmark (2)
4. Switzerland (3)
5. Netherlands (6)
6. Sweden (7)
7. Germany (15)
8. Norway (5)
9. New Zealand (8)
10. Austria (9)
11. Israel (12)
12. Australia (11)
13. Ireland (14)
14. United States (16)
15. Canada (10)

Zimbabwe came in at last place, unchanged in its ranking.

While many of the placements on the list did not change drastically, the report details significant changes in peoples’ perceptions of life in general over the past year, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full World Happiness Report can be accessed here.

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