Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot
The pandemic brought an increase in social support and benevolence

Date:
March 19, 2022
Source:
McGill University
Summary:
In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the World Happiness
Report 2022 shows a bright light in dark times. According to
the team of international researchers, the pandemic brought not
only pain and suffering but also an increase in social support
and benevolence.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the World Happiness Report 2022 shows a bright light in dark times. According to the team of international researchers, including McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington- Leigh, the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an
increase in social support and benevolence.


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As the world battles the ills of disease and war, it is especially
important to remember the universal desire for happiness and the capacity
of individuals to rally to each other's support in times of great need,
say the authors of the report. This year marks the 10th anniversary of
the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on
how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around
the world reaching over 9 million people in 2021.

"COVID-19 is the biggest health crisis we've seen in more than a
century," says Professor John Helliwell of the University of British
Columbia. "Now that we have two years of evidence, we are able to assess
not just the importance of benevolence and trust, but to see how they
have contributed to well-being during the pandemic." Growth in acts of kindness Helliwell adds "We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth
in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every
part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence. This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for
the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond
to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves." Finland takes the top spot while Canada drops to 15th place
For the fifth year in a row Finland takes the top spot as the happiest in
the world. This year its score was significantly ahead of other countries
in the top ten. Denmark continues to occupy second place, with Iceland up
from 4th place last year to 3rd this year. Switzerland is 4th, followed
by the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. The next five are Austria, Australia,
Ireland, Germany and Canada, in that order. This marks a substantial
fall for Canada, which was 5th ten years ago.



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"The downward trend for Canada is significant and has been going on
steadily for years. While Canada once ranked beside the Scandinavian
countries, it now ranks closer to the United States in people's overall evaluation of how good their lives felt," says Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh of McGill University.

The rest of the top 20 include the United States at 16th (up from 19th
last year), the UK and the Czechia still in 17th and 18th, followed by
Belgium at 19th and France at 20th, its highest ranking yet. Overall,
the three biggest gains were in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The
biggest losses were in Lebanon, Venezuela, and Afghanistan.

1. Finland 2. Denmark 3. Iceland 4. Switzerland 5. Netherlands
6. Luxembourg 7. Sweden 8. Norway 9. Israel
10. New Zealand 11. Austria 12. Australia 13. Ireland 14. Germany
15. Canada
Conflict in Afghanistan takes a toll Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, the Director
of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford notes that
"At the very bottom of the ranking we find societies that suffer from
conflict and extreme poverty, notably we find that people in Afghanistan evaluate the quality of their own lives as merely 2.4 out of 10. This
presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that
war does to its many victims and the fundamental importance of peace
and stability for human wellbeing." Progress marked by measures of
happiness "The World Happiness Report is changing the conversation about progress and wellbeing. It provides important snapshots of how people
around the world feel about the overall quality of their lives," says
McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh. According to
the researchers, this information can in turn help countries to craft
policies aimed at achieving happier societies.



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Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government
and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities
with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of
a wide range of crises.

About the report The World Happiness Report is a publication of the
Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World
Poll data.

Read: https://worldhappiness.report/

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by McGill_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


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Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220319081655.htm

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