A new report has been published naming the happiest countries in the world. Canada made the top five on the list, but where did the United States of America land?

Women Smiling During the 2005 Melbourne Cup
(Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)
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The Sustainable Development Solutions Network produced the list based on information from experts in economics, neuroscience, and a variety of other fields. According to The University of British Columbia,

[The Report]...describes how measurements of subjective well-being can be used to assess national progress effectively.

While it's fun to find out which countries fall where on the list, there is actually a scientific study behind it. It's the tie between economics, science, the progress of a country, and the happiness of the citizens.

So which countries made the top of the list? Well, according to the 2015 World Happiness Report the top five countries with the highest levels of happiness are:

5 - Canada

4 - Norway

3 - Denmark

2 - Iceland

And the number one country for happiness... Switzerland.

 

That's right, the United States of America didn't make it into the top five (or the top ten). The US sits at number 15 on the list - which isn't too bad considering 158 countries were ranked in the report.

The 172-page report was released yesterday (April 23), and goes into endless details on what research was used to create the list, what factors were involved, and comparisons from the first World Happiness Report - which was released in 2012.

 

 

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