ISRAEL TOURISM
ISRAEL IS THE
IN THE WORLD HAPPIEST COUNTRY
The World Happiness Report: Israel is almost happy as Scandinavia countries, and people love to smile
T he World Happiness Report finds again the Nordic countries with the highest scores. The No. 1 country, Finland, has held onto its top ranking for seven years straight. The report draws on global survey data from people in more than 140 countries. Countries are ranked on happiness based on their average life evaluations over
Israel may come as a surprise at No. 5, although the country has been in the top 10 since 2022. The report’s authors point out that its rankings are based on a three-year average, which often mutes the effect of “cataclysmic events happening during a particular year.” And the timing of the survey obviously plays a role when there’s a crisis. The survey in
the three preceding years, in this case 2021 to 2023. The report is a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an editorial board. The survey asks each participant to score their life as a whole, considering what they value, said John Helliwell, emeritus professor
of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report. The report looks at six key variables to help explain life evaluations: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. Given the war with Hamas,
6 • www.itn.co.il
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