A lion rests in the Nairobi National Park, Kenya on January 6, 2021. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Costumed participants of a lacquer and leather ship, the so-called “Torture Ship”, kiss before putting out to Lake Constance for a pleasure cruise at the harbor of Friedrichshafen, Germany, 29 June 2019. Hundreds of leather and rubber fans set sail for the boat trip through the night on Lake Constance. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/EPA/EFE)

A pedestrian holds an umbrella to protect from the sun in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

A woman sits on the rubble of her house in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Actress Elaine C Smith grazes Siusan, the Highland cow, on Glasgow Green to mark being given the Freedom of the City of Glasgow, UK on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

A herder sits amidst his camels at a cattle market in Lahore on June 3, 2025, ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

A period of relative stability has put the Iranian capital No1 on the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in liveability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The “most improved” top 10 contains some unexpected names. So, eg, the fourth place: Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Latest ranking: 128; Ranking five years ago: 131; Five-year index movement: 3.8%. Here: A supporter of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara campaigns in a market in the city’s Koumassi quarter. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Denmark was in third place last year, behind Switzerland and Iceland. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50. Here: #8. NEW ZEALAND: A woman dives from a platform into a giant air bed at a park in Palmerston North September 29, 2011. (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)