Australia Is Only the Ninth Happiest Country In the World (Below New Zealand)

Chin up, Hugh. Ninth's not so bad!

The World Happiness Report 2017 (which is a thing) was released today, revealing Australia to be the ninth happiest country in the world.

For the second consecutive year, we’ve placed below New Zealand. In 2016, NZ and Oz held positions eight and nine, respectively. Everyone, smile extra hard this year!

Norway took first place in the 2017 report, despite coming fourth in 2016. The nation jumped ahead of Denmark, Switzerland and Iceland, last year’s top three. Iceland even managed to swap positions with Switzerland this time around. Finland held steady in fifth.

The report comes from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and attributes scores to different countries based on per capita gross domestic product, life expectancy, personal freedom, generosity, the absence of corruption and social support.

The highest possible score is ten. Considering Norway only managed a 7.54, there’s still plenty of room for improvement across the globe.

(Australia scored a 7.28, FYI.)

The United States dropped one spot to 14 in the 2017 chart, with a score of 6.99.

The ‘saddest’ nation was the Central African Republic, scoring 2.69.

The SDSN is a global initiative of the United Nations, and it’s hoped that this ongoing report will encourage governments and businesses to develop new ways of improving their nation’s wellbeing.

We have one suggestion for Australia: Keep Adele here longer.

Photo: Instagram (Hugh Jackman)