In a year when loved ones, jobs and personal freedom are lost in epidemics, it would not be surprising if people around the world experience more dissatisfaction in their lives.
However, mental health has declined in many countries, while according to this year’s World Happiness Report, there has been a surprising resilience in how people rate their lives overall.
It remained the happiest country in the world, as Finland topped the list for the fourth year in a row. Denmark is second and Switzerland is third. Iceland and the Netherlands finish in the top five, while the United States ranks 19th on the list.
About .5. Finland, a small Scandinavian country with a population of around one million, uses past victories to entice tourism and promote its natural beauty.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, it has been relatively good during the epidemic compared to other European countries, with a total of 505 deaths reported.
The report said the country has consistently placed a high place on measures of mutual trust that have helped protect lives and livelihoods during epidemics.
“For the fourth year in a row, #Finland is the happiest country in the world.” Tweeted Finnish Embassy in the United States on Friday. “Our #happiness comes from a balanced daily life, supported by good governance, trust, well-being and equality. The epidemic has not changed on this long-term basis.”
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The annual happiness ranking is based on the evaluation of citizens’ own lives. The study used data from Gallup World Poll, which asks respondents to evaluate their entire lives by imagining a CD, with the best life 10 for them and the worst possible 0 for them.
This year’s report looked specifically at the relationship between well-being and Covid-19. It also attempts to assess how governments around the world have dealt with the coronavirus and why some countries have done better than others.
Reflecting the global nature of the epidemic and the widely shared resilience, Covid-19 has made only modest changes to the country’s happy rankings, according to a study released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
“Surprisingly, when measured by people’s own life assessments, on average, well-being has not declined,” said John Halville, editor and professor of a report from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
“One possible explanation is that people see Covid-1 as a common, external threat to everyone, and that increases the sense of unity and companionship.”
While people’s life satisfaction has not been dramatically affected by Covid-19, emotions and mental health have changed during the first year of the epidemic. This year’s report focuses more than usual on specific daily emotions to track the impact of epidemics on various aspects of life.
For example, the study found that the number of people who said they were worried or sad in the past day increased by about 10 percent.
It also assesses that there was a “large and immediate” decline in mental health in many countries when the epidemic first struck. Average mental health later improved but not improved from where it started, he added.
The report notes that not being able to work during the epidemic also had a negative impact on well-being, with unemployment associated with a 12 percent reduction in life satisfaction.
Like everything else, the researchers’ work was also affected by the epidemic.
Gallup was unable to conduct face-to-face interviews, which are used for more than one percent of countries surveyed earlier. The report added that the pool of respondents has changed as some countries have shifted to phone surveys.
One of Kushch’s questions in the report is why there have been such different mortality rates around the world. While noting a myriad of other reasons, trusts are identified as an important factor in helping governments protect their populations from epidemics.
In countries where people expected their lost wallets to be returned by neighbors or strangers, they were associated with very few deaths.
In East Asia, elsewhere, the evidence also showed that the well-being of the people improved when the government acted.
“East Asian experience shows that strict government policies not only effectively control Kovid-19, but also buffer the negative impact of daily infections on people’s happiness,” said Shun Wang, an editor at the report.
