The happiest European country in the world for the fifth year and an Arab country in the penultimate position!

Finland was ranked the world's happiest country for the fifth year in a row, in an annual index sponsored by the United Nations that once again ranked Afghanistan as the most miserable, after Lebanon.

The UAE is first regionally in the global "soft power" index

Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania recorded the largest increases in welfare. The biggest fall in the global happiness chart, which was released today, Friday, was for Lebanon, Venezuela and Afghanistan.

Lebanon, which is facing an economic collapse, slipped to second place from last on the index of 146 countries, slightly below Zimbabwe.

The humanitarian crisis in war-stricken Afghanistan, already at the bottom of the scale, has worsened since the Taliban seized power again last August.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that one million children under the age of five may die of starvation this winter if they are not helped.

"This (index) is a stark reminder of the material and moral damage that war causes to so many of its victims," ​​said co-author Jean-Emmanuel de Neve.

The World Happiness Report, now in its tenth year, is based on people's assessment of their happiness, as well as economic and social data.

It rates the happiness score on a scale from zero to 10, based on averaged data over a three-year period.

Source: AFP