The Netherlands has once again come up trumps, taking fifth place on the World Happiness Report. There are, of course, still things about the Netherlands that need improving. For example, we have Western Europe’s lowest water quality and we all know how high rents are in Amsterdam in particular.
However, there are plenty of redeeming factors which have contributed to the Netherlands once again being named the world’s fifth happiest country. The Dutch are an innovative lot, installing the world’s first 3D printed bridge and even the world’s first underwater bike parking spots.
The report uses Gallup World Poll data, which is compiled using the opinions of respondents from different countries. They are asked questions about things like quality of life and contentedness.
Last year the Netherlands also took fifth place on the World Happiness Report, having fallen short of fifth place the year before. fell short of fifth place but this year it’s back in the top five behind Finland, Denmark and Israel. The Netherlands achieved a score of 7,403, which is slightly lower than last year’s 7,415.
You can read the full report here, but here are the top ten positions this year:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Israel
- The Netherlands
- Sweden
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Luxembourg
- New Zealand
It’s no coincidence that the world’s richest countries tend to be higher up on the list, with the world’s poorest countries ranking lowest. However, war and corruption, or the absence of such factors, plays a huge role in the rankings too. On the flipside, freedom, social support and life expectancy really bolster a country’s score in these ratings.
Afghanistan, for example, came last with a score of just 2,404. It seems, however, that the Netherlands has a nice strong score across the board.