(STACKER) – Considering what people are dealing with these days—the ongoing pandemic, worldwide inflation, rising economic uncertainty, and tension among countries—being happy may seem like it takes more effort than it used to. Although some people may think of happiness as living a luxurious lifestyle or achieving fame, research shows that happiness actually comes down to a few, much more basic things including clean drinking water, affordable health care, and a healthy work-life balance.

Every year since 2012, the United Nations has published its World Happiness Report, ranking over 150 countries from the happiest to least happy. The score is based on responses from adults representing all walks of life to the “Cantril Ladder” question, a prompt that asks participants to evaluate the quality of their lives on a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 representing the worst possible life (or bottom rung,) and 10 representing the best (or top rung).

Besides revealing the quality of lives of its participants, the report factors in six key variables including gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption; it also explores the connection between government and happiness, the effects of prosocial behavior, and how information technology has transformed how we communicate with each other and become informed.

Using data from the 2022 World Happiness Report, Stacker compiled the top 50 happiest countries across the globe, from least happy (#50) to happiest (#1). This research includes the impact the pandemic has had on each country. Read on to see which countries are home to some of the happiest people on the planet.

50. Kuwait

– Happiness score: 6.106

49. El Salvador

– Happiness score: 6.120

48. Poland

– Happiness score: 6.123

47. Croatia

– Happiness score: 6.125

46. Mexico

– Happiness score: 6.128

45. Nicaragua

– Happiness score: 6.165

44. Chile

– Happiness score: 6.172

43. Serbia

– Happiness score: 6.178

42. Latvia

– Happiness score: 6.180

41. Cyprus

– Happiness score: 6.221

40. Kazakhstan

– Happiness score: 6.234

39. Guatemala

– Happiness score: 6.262

38. Brazil

– Happiness score: 6.293

37. Panama

– Happiness score: 6.309

36. Estonia

– Happiness score: 6.341

35. Slovakia

– Happiness score: 6.391

34. Lithuania

– Happiness score: 6.446

33. Malta

– Happiness score: 6.447

32. Kosovo

– Happiness score: 6.455

31. Italy

– Happiness score: 6.467

30. Uruguay

– Happiness score: 6.474

29. Spain

– Happiness score: 6.476

#28. Romania

– Happiness score: 6.477

27. Singapore

– Happiness score: 6.480

26. Taiwan Province of China

– Happiness score: 6.512

25. Saudi Arabia

– Happiness score: 6.52

24. United Arab Emirates

– Happiness score: 6.576

23. Costa Rica

– Happiness score: 6.582

22. Slovenia

– Happiness score: 6.630

21. Bahrain

– Happiness score: 6.647

20. France

– Happiness score: 6.687

19. Belgium

– Happiness score: 6.805

18. Czechia

– Happiness score: 6.920

17. United Kingdom

– Happiness score: 6.943

16. United States

– Happiness score: 6.977

15. Canada

– Happiness score: 7.025

14. Germany

– Happiness score: 7.034

13. Ireland

– Happiness score: 7.041

12. Australia

– Happiness score: 7.162

11. Austria

– Happiness score: 7.163

10. New Zealand

– Happiness score: 7.200

9. Israel

– Happiness score: 7.364

8. Norway

– Happiness score: 7.365

7. Sweden

– Happiness score: 7.384

6. Luxembourg

– Happiness score: 7.404

5. Netherlands

– Happiness score: 7.415

4. Switzerland

– Happiness score: 7.512

3. Iceland

– Happiness score: 7.557

2. Denmark

– Happiness score: 7.636

1. Finland

– Happiness score: 7.821