An old couple in Hà Tĩnh Province enjoy their simple daily happiness. VN jumps four places to rank 79th in World Happiness Report 2021. VNA/VNS Photo Phan Quân

HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam has moved up four places to rank 79th out of 149 countries and territories in the 2021 World Happiness Report.

The rankings are based on a number of factors including level of gross domestic product, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and absence of corruption in government or business.

The report was prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative launched by the United Nations in 2012.

Việt Nam scored 5.411 points, up from 5.353 it got last year.

Regarding corruption perception, Viet Nam stood in 68th place, higher than some Asian countries including South Korea (92), Japan (112) and Singapore (140), according to the report.

The country's life expectancy at birth is 68 years, ranking 50th.

Viet Nam ranked 67th in terms of social support and 98th in per capita GDP.

While the country got high ranking in freedom to make life choices, placing 9th, its generosity factor performed worst, at 112nd.

In Southeast Asia, Việt Nam’s position was better than Malaysia (81), Indonesia (82), Laos (100), Cambodia (114) and Myanmar (126).

However, the country lagged behind Singapore (32), Thailand (54) and the Philippines (61).

Finland once again takes the top spot as the happiest country in the world according to survey data taken from the Gallup World Poll. This is the fourth year in a row Finland has ranked first in the report.

Top five countries in the happiness ranking are dominated by European nations, comprising Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands. New Zealand is the only country outside Europe to be included in the top ten, claiming ninth position.

Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the list.

The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of COVID-19 and how people all over the world have fared.

Jeffrey Sachs – co-author of the report - said: “We need urgently to learn from COVID-19. The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally."

"The World Happiness Report 2021 reminds us that we must aim for well-being rather than mere wealth, which will be fleeting indeed if we don’t do a much better job of addressing the challenges of sustainable development,” he said.

Việt Nam's national happiness index ranking results have continuously improved in recent years. Last year, it ranked 83rd out of 156 countries in the 2020 report, up 11 places compared to 2019.

The International Day of Happiness was celebrated for the first time in Việt Nam on March 20, 2014 and the pursuit of happiness has been highlighted as the country’s key goal.

On the occasion, a number of activities are organised to raise people's awareness of social welfare and the building of happy and progressive families.

The yearly celebration was started in June 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly. As many as 193 member countries, now including Việt Nam, have pledged to jointly build a happier world.

The Happiness Day initiative came from Bhutan – a small country located in South Asia whose citizens are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world.

Since 1970, the Himalayan Kingdom has put forth an alternative measure of social prosperity, called the Gross National Happiness Index (GNH) – assessing happiness based on various factors such as economic and material wealth, health, education, and environment.  – VNS