The 2018 report was released Wednesday, ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, and it has the United States ranked 18th. The World Happiness Report 2018, which ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants, was released on March 14th at a launch event at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican.
– The United States is at its unhappiest level since the annual World Happiness Report was first released in 2012. This year, the US came in No. 18, down four spots from last year, the Washington Post reports. The report was released Wednesday by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, an initiative of the United Nations, in advance of the UN's International Day of Happiness March 20. It ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, taking into account six factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Income is the biggest variable, but an economist who co-edited the list notes that a sense of belonging and other societal factors also play major roles. The US, for example, struggles with obesity, substance abuse, and other factors despite significant economic growth. This year's 10 happiest countries: