These are the world’s happiest countries including Australia

Source: News

These guys must be in a pretty happy country. Picture: Supplied

IF YOU’RE seeking happiness on your next holiday, head to northern Europe.

That’s according to the 2013 World Happiness Report, which has ranked 156 countries around the world based on their joy factor.

Denmark came out on top with a rating of 7.693 out of 10, followed by Norway (7.655), Switzerland (7.650) and the Netherlands (7.512).

Australia was ranked number 10 on the list at 7.350, closely followed by Israel and Costa Rica.

Scroll down for a list of the 10 happiest countries

The survey was conducted between 2010 and 2012 for the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

It’s the second of its kind released by a team of researchers including John F. Helliwell of the University of British Columbia and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Richard Layard from the London School of Economics.

The canal waterfront at Nyhavn, Denmark. Picture: Jenny, Stevens

They used data from the Gallup World Poll to rank the countries on ‘happiness’ topics including life expectancy, freedom to make life choices and social support.

It found the world has become “a slightly happier and more generous place over the past five years”. However, economic and political upheavals have impacted well being in some nations.

The countries that scored lowest in the happiness stakes were Togo, Benin, the Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda.

After a period of political turmoil, Egypt had the greatest fall in happiness levels, averaging 4.3 out of 10 last year, compared to 5.4 in 2007.

The authors encouraged a higher spend on mental illness, which was found to be the biggest “determinant of misery” around the world.

The top 10 happiest countries:

1. Denmark (7.693)

2. Norway (7.655)

3. Switzerland (7.650)