Norway ranked as world's happiest country

Norway has been named as the happiest country in the world, displacing former number one and three-time winner, Denmark in a new report that calls on nations to build social trust and equality to improve the well-being of their citizens.

The Scandinavian country achieved the great feat for the first time having previously been ranked fourth since the World Happiness Report produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative was launched by the United Nations in 2012.

The World Happiness Report 2017 ranked countries on six criteria measuring happiness: GDP per capita, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support and an absence of corruption in government or the business sector.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, along with Syria and Yemen, are the least happy of the 155 countries ranked in the fifth annual report released at the United Nations.

"Happy countries are the ones that have a healthy balance of prosperity, as conventionally measured, and social capital, meaning a high degree of trust in a society, low inequality and confidence in government,"Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) said in an interview.

Completing the top five is Iceland, Switzerland and Finland. While the Netherlands is ranked in 6th place, followed by Canada in 7th, New Zealand in 8th, Australia in 9th and Sweden in 10th completing the top 10.

The US is 14th on the list, while Germany is ranked 16, followed by the United Kingdom in 19 and France in 31. 

According to Sachs, the US dropped one place due to rising inequality, distrust and corruption adding that Trump's economic measures were "all aimed at increasing inequality – tax cuts at the top, throwing people off the healthcare rolls, cutting Meals on Wheels in order to raise military spending.

The aim of the report, he added, is to provide another tool for governments, business and civil society to help their countries find a better way to wellbeing.

South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Central African Republic were at the bottom of the list.

Top 20 ranked countries.
1 Norway
2 Denmark
3 Iceland
4 Switzerland
5 Finland
6 The Netherlands
7 Canada
8 New Zealand
9 Australia
10 Sweden
11. Israel
12. Costa Rica
13. Austria
14. United States
15. Ireland
16. Germany
17. Belgium
18. Luxembourg
19. United Kingdom
20. Chile