Denmark has been declared the planet’s most contented country, pipping Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland to top spot in the annual World Happiness Report.

Iceland came third in the annual survey Credit: BRANISLAV.PETKOVIC@GMAIL.COM/BRANISLAV.PETKOVIC@GMAIL.COM

Britain fell two places to 23rd in the report, which ranks 157 countries according to factors such as equality, GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy , “perceptions of corruption” and “freedom to make life choices” – placing it below the likes of Mexico and Singapore. The study, the work of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative for the United Nations, also examined how people evaluated their own lives on a scale of 0 to 10.

Despite being famous for its cold winters, Viking raiders and the melancholy Prince Hamlet, Denmark beat last year’s winner, Switzerland, with a total “happiness score” of 7.526. It has fared well in every recent report, taking top spot in 2013 and third place in 2015.

Afghanistan was named among the least happy nations

At the other end of the table, Burundi was rated the least happy country, with a score of just 2.905, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin. The lowest European country in the rankings was Bulgaria, at 129th, while Greece and Portugal also performed badly, sitting 99th and 94th, respectively. The United States rose two places to 13th.

Denmark’s success can be attributed to its good life expectancy (80 years, well above the global average of 71), GDP per capita ($44,916, according to World Bank figures, placing it 17th overall), free/tax-financed health care, and enviable welfare system, which has made its wealth gap one of the world’s smallest. But it has also been suggested in the past that Danes are genetically happier than people from other countries. In 2014 research by the University of Warwick suggested that “the greater a nation's genetic distance from Denmark, the lower the reported wellbeing of that nation.”

Conversely, life expectancy in Burundi is just 56 and its GDP per capita is $770.

The report urged governments to use its findings to help steer their policies. “The cause of happiness as the goal of public policy continues to make good progress,” it concludes. “So far five governments (Bhutan, Ecuador, Scotland, UAE and Venezuela) have appointed Ministers of Happiness responsible for coordinating these efforts. This will surely in time contribute to a happier world.”

The world's 50 happiest countries