Finland has been named the world's happiest country in the latest edition of the World Happiness Report, released to coincide with International World Happiness Day March 20.
It's the second year in a row that Finland has topped the ranking, which is once again dominated by Western, Nordic and Scandinavian countries: rounding out the podium are Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands.
The World Happiness Report 2019, which is published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
This year, Finns reported the highest rates of life satisfaction and happiness.
Researchers note that the top-performing countries on the index tend to score high in key variables for well-being: income, life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity.
Alongside the country ranking, the report also focuses on how the notion of happiness has changed over the last decade with the evolution of technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies.
"The world is a rapidly changing place," said co-editor John Helliwell in a statement.
"How communities interact with each other whether in schools, workplaces, neighborhoods or on social media has profound effects on world happiness."
- Negative emotions in Asia and Africa -
Using India as an example where happiness levels continue to trend downwards, researchers link population growth to falling world happiness rates.
An upward trend in negative emotions like "worry, sadness and anger" are noted to be particularly high in Asia and Africa.
The report also features chapters exploring the connection between increased screen time and use of digital media among US teens to increased anxiety and declining rates of happiness, as well as addiction and unhappiness in America.
The US ranks 19th on the list.
"This year's report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the US," said chapter author Jeffrey Sachs.
"Addictions come in many forms, from substance abuse to gambling to digital media. The compulsive pursuit of substance abuse and addictive behaviors is causing severe unhappiness. Government, business, and communities should use these indicators to set new policies aimed at overcoming these sources of unhappiness."
Here are the world's happiest countries 2019:
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Norway
4. Iceland
5. Netherlands
6. Switzerland
7. Sweden
8. New Zealand
9. Canada
10. Austria
