Canada falls from top 10 in latest World Happiness Report

A general drop in happiness was seen worldwide in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept around the globe. The pandemic brought with it a drop in economic prosperity, freedom, and life expectancy, factors which are taken into account in the annual report. However, the overall distribution remained similar from last year's report, indicating that the drop in global happiness affected all nations in a similar manner.

Canada seems to have dropped more than others however, moving five spots down the list from 2020. Finland continues to maintain its place at the top of the list while Zimbabwe placed last overall. The United States etched by Canada in this year's report, placing fourteenth on the list.

Meanwhile, many Asian countries have risen on the list, with researchers believing that it may be due to their relatively successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic within their own countries. In China, where the country is open and the economy is booming, their place on the report rose to 94 from 84.

"We find year after year that life satisfaction is reported to be happiest in the social democracies of northern Europe," said report co-author Zachary Sachs. "People feel secure in those countries, so trust is high. The government is seen to be credible and honest, and trust in each other is high."

"We asked two kinds of questions: One is about the life in general, life evaluation, we call it. How is your life going? The other is about mood, emotions, stress, anxiety," he continued. Sachs expressed astonishment at how populations have kept up given the high levels of anxiety and stress associated with the pandemic.

"The responses about long-term life evaluation did not change decisively, though the disruption in our lives was so profound," Sachs said.

"Surprisingly there was not, on average, a decline in well-being when measured by people’s own evaluation of their lives," said another co-author of the report, professor John Helliwell of the University of British Columbia. "One possible explanation is that people see COVID-19 as a common, outside threat affecting everybody and that this has generated a greater sense of solidarity and fellow-feeling."