--- title: This Is the Happiest Country in the World description: Hint: It's not the U.S. canonical: https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-16T12:44:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:56:35.198Z article:section: World og:title: This Is the Happiest Country in the World og:description: Hint: It's not the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt587bb0377aba3adc/69888b33ab6d77bee06a8dde/copenhagen.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Denmark As Euro Zone Turmoil Adds To The Haven Appeal Of Scandinavia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is the Happiest Country in the World twitter:description: Hint: It's not the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt587bb0377aba3adc/69888b33ab6d77bee06a8dde/copenhagen.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is the Happiest Country in the World by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Mar 16, 2016 12:44 PM CUT  Pedestrians walk past Christmas market stalls on a cobbled street in the Nyhavn district of central Copenhagen, Denmark, on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Pedestrians walk past Christmas market stalls on a cobbled street in the Nyhavn district of central Copenhagen, Denmark, on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.Linus Hook—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Mar 16, 2016 12:44 PM CUT What makes a nation’s people [happy](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-world-happiness-idUSKCN0WI0TJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter "undefined")? According to a new report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), it’s factors like GDP per capita, freedom from corruption and “having someone to count on in times of trouble.” By those criteria, SDSN says Denmark is the happiest country in the world, Reuters reports. Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland round out the top five; the U.S. ranks at #13. On the opposite end of the list, the most unhappy country in the world is Burundi, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin. “There is a very strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier,” said head of the SDSN Jeffrey Sachs. “For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-world-happiness-idUSKCN0WI0TJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/"},"headline":"This Is the Happiest Country in the World","datePublished":"2016-03-16T12:44:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:56:35.198Z","description":"Hint: It's not the U.S.","url":"https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/","keywords":["Denmark"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt587bb0377aba3adc/69888b33ab6d77bee06a8dde/copenhagen.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt587bb0377aba3adc/69888b33ab6d77bee06a8dde/copenhagen.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Denmark As Euro Zone Turmoil Adds To The Haven Appeal Of Scandinavia","caption":"Denmark As Euro Zone Turmoil Adds To The Haven Appeal Of Scandinavia","creditText":"Linus Hook—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/denmark/","name":"Denmark"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4260844/happiest-country-in-the-world/","name":"This Is the Happiest Country in the World"}}]}] ```