In 11th place was Austria, followed by Australia with a score of 7.16.
Despite higher scores for GDP, life expectancy and generosity, Australia did not beat New Zealand when it came to social support, freedom to make life choices and perceptions of corruption.
Canada (15), the US (16) and the UK (17) all made the top 20. At the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan was deemed the unhappiest, followed by Lebanon.
Published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the World Happiness Report uses a combination of data points averaged over three years to rank 150 countries according to happiness.
Each country is given a score out of 10, based on people's personal life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll as well as social and economic data such as GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, level of social trust and community generosity.
According to one of the report's three founding editors and professor emeritus at the Vancouver School of Economics, John Helliwell, a surprising trend was discovered in the latest publication.
"The big surprise was that globally, in an uncoordinated way, there have been very large increases in all the three forms of benevolence that are asked about in the Gallup World Poll," Helliwell told CNN Travel.
Acts like volunteering, charity donation and helping strangers all increased by around 25 per cent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic or 2020. Especially helping strangers.
What's so great about Finland?
Stunning natural environments like Finland's Kvarken Archipelago, make it a happiness haven for locals. Photo / Unsplash
Finland didn't just get the top spot but held a score "significantly ahead of other countries in the top ten" according to the report.
A strong culture of community, large natural environments, universal health care and low crime and poverty rates were considered key contributors to life satisfaction.
More than 90 per cent of Fins said they felt various aspects of their life were in balance and 95.1 per cent said they felt "at peace with" their life. Almost 90 per cent said they experienced calmness a lot of the day prior.
It's well known that strong social ties and community greatly contribute to feelings of happiness and satisfaction. In Finland, people reap the rewards of a culture that focuses on cooperation and connection.
Of the top 10 happiest countries, Finland had the highest 'social support' score, meaning many Fins felt they had relatives or friends they could count on to help in times of trouble.
