Sweden has topped a poll as the best ‒ or “goodest” ‒ country when it comes to serving the interests of its people while avoiding damaging impacts to other nations and the environment.

The country has outranked 162 others to take pole position in the Good Country Index, a league table based on 35 separate indicators from sources including the United Nations and the World Bank.

Sweden scores highest for positive lifestyle contributions including prosperity, equality, health and wellbeing, while also performing well culturally.

Iceland tops the list for its overall contribution to the planet and climate protection, including low CO2 emissions and minimal production of hazardous material, while the UK performs less well in this area, sitting down in 22nd place.

The UK, however, is top of the table when it comes to science and technology, which takes into account scientific publications and study, Nobel prizes and patents.

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The index suggests that Sweden, relative to the size of its economy, does more "good" and less harm than any other country. Smaller countries such as Ireland, Kenya, Iceland and Costa Rica have all dropped in the rankings ‒ this is partly because events around the world make a bigger impact on smaller countries.

The report, which weighs up a country's contributions to the planet and the human race relative to its size ‒ measured in GDP ‒ is the brainchild of leading policy advisor Simon Anholt, whose aim is "to find ways of encouraging countries to collaborate and co-operate a lot more, and compete a bit less".

The 10 happiest countries in Europe Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 happiest countries in Europe The 10 happiest countries in Europe Denmark Coulourful houses and boats seen in the Nyhavn district in Copenhagen The 10 happiest countries in Europe Switzerland The 10 happiest countries in Europe Iceland Iceland, Northern Lights The 10 happiest countries in Europe Norway Wheel deal: cycling in Norway Visit Norway The 10 happiest countries in Europe Finland A girls holds a Finnish flag on the first day of the 2012 European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki on June 27, 2012. Getty The 10 happiest countries in Europe The Netherlands The 10 happiest countries in Europe Sweden Seagulls rests on the partly frozen water near Riddarholmen in Stockholm, on February 3, 2012. Temperatures plunged to new lows in Europe where a week-long cold snap has now claimed more than 220 lives and forecasters warned that the big freeze would tighten its grip at the weekend. AFP PHOTO/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images) AFP The 10 happiest countries in Europe Austria HERRENHAEUSER, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 08: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Photo taken with an iPhone 6.) A hiker, the wife of the photographer, on day two of a four-day 50km hike across the Karwendel mountain range, walks towards Falkenhuette hut on August 8, 2015 near Herrenhaeuser, Austria. The Karwendel mountain range, part of the Austrian Alps, is located in central Tyrol and is a popular summer destination for mountain bikers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts operated by alpine clubs and scattered across the region offer food and shelter. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup/Getty Images The 10 happiest countries in Europe Germany Getty Images The 10 happiest countries in Europe Belgium The city hall on Brussels' Grand Place is illuminated during a light show, December 30, 2015 Reuters

"A good country is one that successfully contributes to the good of humanity. Of course it must serve the interests of its own people, but never at the expense of other populations or their natural resources: this is the new law of human survival," he said.

He added that the UK must collaborate and cooperate more with other countries: "It [Britain] isn’t just an island unconnected to the rest of Europe or to the rest of the world. Just like every other country on earth, it is part of one system. If it fails, we all fail."