Despite enduring five months of conflict with Hamas, Israel secured the fifth spot in the 2024 World Happiness Report, released on Wednesday. The report evaluated the happiness levels of 143 countries, considering factors such as life evaluation, positive emotions, and negative emotions.
Anat Panti, a happiness policy researcher at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, attributed Israel’s high ranking to its stable life satisfaction index, which reflects long-term indicators like economic strength, social engagement, and healthcare quality, rather than transient emotions.
Finland retained its position as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, with Israel ranking behind Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Meanwhile, Afghanistan surpassed Lebanon as the least happy country.
Panti explained that the report’s methodology involves considering the average life satisfaction over the past three years, highlighting Israel’s consistent performance in maintaining life satisfaction.
The annual report draws on data from US market research company Gallup and is analyzed by international experts led by the University of Oxford. In addition to self-assessed evaluations of life satisfaction, analysts assess various factors such as healthy life expectancy, freedom, GDP per capita, and social support to provide a comprehensive assessment of happiness levels across countries.
