Finland is the world's happiest nation again. The U.S. keeps dropping.

Flag of Finland.
(Image credit: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Finland is once again the world's happiness nation.

The 2019 World Happiness Index, an annual ranking released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations, placed the Nordic nation, which is known for its strong education system and public safety, at the top of the list for the second year in a row. Its neighbors Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden were all in the top 10, as well.

The ranking system considers six different factors — freedom, generosity, income, trust, healthy life expectancy, and social support — when determining nations' overall happiness levels.

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The United States wound up as the 19th happiest country, down one spot from a year ago, and five spots from 2017, signaling that the nation is becoming less happy. Per U.S. News, the report specifies the decline of happiness among the American population lies parallel to a rise in depression, suicide ideation, and self-harm, as well as an "epidemic of addictions," including substance abuse, gambling, and poor diets.

The report lists South Sudan as the least happy nation. Read the full World Happiness report.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.