PETALING JAYA: Malaysia climbed up the rankings to be the 35th happiest country in the world, according to this year's World Happiness Report.

Malaysia jumped seven spots to 35th place from 42nd position in 2017.

The latest ranking puts Malaysia as the second happiest country in Asia, just one spot behind Singapore (34).

The World Happiness Report 2018 placed Malaysia ahead of its other neighbours Thailand (46), Japan (54), Philippines (71), China (86), Vietnam (95), Indonesia (96), Laos (110), Cambodia (120) and Myanmar (130).

However, Singaporeans don't seem to be as cheery as Malaysians, with them dropping eight spots from 26th place to 34th.

Finland has overtaken Norway to become the happiest nation on earth.

The top four places are taken by Nordic nations - Finland is followed by Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

On the bottom of the list is Burundi in east Africa which ranks at 156th place.

The Central African Republic, South Sudan, Tanzania, Yemen, Rwanda and Syria are also at the bottom of the list with low happiness levels.

The report, produced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), with the support of the Ernesto Illy Foundation, measures well-being in countries around the world.

This year's World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants.

The main focus of this year's report, in addition to its usual ranking of the levels and changes in happiness around the world, is on migration within and between countries.

The overall rankings are based on the pooled results from Gallup World Poll surveys from 2015-2017.