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)

The aurora borealis, or the northern lights occur over Derwentwater, near Keswick, England, Thursday October 8, 2015. The northern lights are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shine over the plane wreck of a US Navy airplane – a Douglas Super DC-3 – on the Black Beach in Solheimasandur, south Iceland on January 18, 2018. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

Kate O'Connor, of Ireland, makes an attempt in the pentathlon long jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Photo by Vincent Thian/AP Photo)

Paolo Guerrero of Brazil's Internacional reacts after missing an opportunity to score during a Copa Libertadores soccer match against Chile's Palestino in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Photo by Diego Vara/Reuters)

Germany's Rebecca Knaak kicks the ball during the Women's Nations League final soccer match between Spain and Germany in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, December 2, 2025. (Photo by Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)

Oleh Psiuk, frontman of Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra and vocalist Sasha Tab, right, are pictured by a fan before leaving the Universo Hotel, after winning the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Nuns light candles during the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony during Easter Holy Week in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on March 28, 2024. (Photo by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)