Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

Vacation Idea: Travel to the Happiest Countries on Earth

by Billie Cohen | March 20, 2017

Norway is the happiest place on earth, according to this year’s World Happiness Report by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report is shared annually to mark World Happiness Day on March 20. It determines “life satisfaction” among 155 nations by using Gallup poll data to rank, as its overview explains, “the factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.”

We’d add that happy locals create a welcoming environment for visitors, too, so one idea for your next vacation is to get to know the residents in one of the world’s happiest countries. Norway tops the list, jumping up from the number four spot last year. It’s followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, and Finland; the U.S. is number 14. Here are the top 20. For insider info on planning your trip to many of these cheery destinations, click through to our Insider’s Guides or Ask Wendy.

  1. Norway
  2. Denmark
  3. Iceland
  4. Switzerland
  5. Finland
  6. Netherlands
  7. Canada
  8. New Zealand
  9. Australia
  10. Sweden
  11. Israel
  12. Costa Rica
  13. Austria
  14. United States
  15. Ireland
  16. Germany
  17. Belgium
  18. Luxembourg
  19. United Kingdom
  20. Chile

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Best International Stopovers: Two Trips for the Price of One

by Caitlin Morton | September 12, 2023

Wendy's Romania Trip Photos and Experiences

by Wendy Perrin | March 11, 2023

Where Everybody’s Traveling in 2023: The 10 Most Popular Countries for WOW Trips

by WendyPerrin.com | January 5, 2023

Ideas for Your Family’s Spring Break Trip

by WendyPerrin.com | September 18, 2023

How to Make Friends with Local People When Traveling

by Doug Baker | March 11, 2023

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>