What's the world's happiest nation - & how does SA score?
The latest World Happiness Report from the UN features the usual shiny, happy lot on top
Finland is officially the happiest country in the world, according to new research by the United Nations.
The annual World Happiness Report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network measures happiness based on six key components: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
The rankings are based on answers to a poll, in which respondents are asked to picture a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own lives on that 0 to 10 scale.
This year's study ranks 156 countries.
The top five countries remained the same as last year's though they switched positions slightly. Norway, last year's winner, fell to the number two spot. Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland complete the top five.
The highest-ranking African country is Mauritius (55), followed by Libya (70), Algeria (84), Morocco (85), Nigeria (91), Somalia (98), Cameroon (99) and Gabon (103).
South Africa comes in at ninth place in Africa, but 105th in the world.
In fact, South Africans are less happy than they were a year ago - having dropped four places to the current spot from position 101 last year...
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