A trip to Australia, the world's happiest industrialized nation, wouldn't be complete without visiting the Great Barrier Reef. It's one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Australia ranks at the top in civic engagement, which looks at voters' participation among other criteria. It also comes out above average, in the list of 36 countries, in environmental quality, health status, housing, personal security, jobs and earnings, education and skills, subjective well-being, social connections, and income and wealth. The only category in which Australia lags behind the average is work-life balance, the OECD says.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
A hiker enjoys a sunny day on the Lofoten islands in Norway, the second happiest country. According to the research, Norway ranks above average in all of the 11 dimensions that the OECD considers as "essential to a good life."
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
In Sweden, the third happiest country, delight in the medieval architecture of Stockholm's Gamla Stan, a historical city center. Sweden is the top performer in environmental quality, but it ranks slightly below the average in personal security -- another key indicator in the quality of life index.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
Pedestrians enjoy the weather in the Christians Havn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danes enjoy the best work-life balance of all OECD countries, and also rank at the top in social connections. Denmark comes in at number four on the OECD list.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
Canada ranked at number five on the OECD Better LIfe Index. Banff National Park may be one of the reasons why. Canada's oldest national park spans more than 2,500 square miles of mountains, glaciers, forests and lakes. The OECD praises Canadians, who enjoy above the average quality of life in all but one category -- the work-life balance.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
Visit Zermatt in Switzerland to find some of the best ski slopes. It's where some of the world's national ski teams train. According to the OECD, the Swiss are very satisfied with their lives -- they rank at the top in subjective well-being as well as jobs and earnings, and come in at number six on the OECD index.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
New Yorkers enjoy the sun in Central Park on Manhattan, New York. The United States rank number seven in the OECD list, at the top in housing, and income and wealth, but below average in work-life balance.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
Finland, the eight happiest industrialized nation, is home to Santa Claus. You can ride a reindeer sled in the Santa Claus Village, an amusement park near Rovaniemi in the Lapland region. The organization says Finland ranks at the top in education and skills, a category often highlighted as one of the most important to people surveyed.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
The ninth happiest country is the Netherlands, where you can enjoy the flowers at the Keukenhof gardens. You'll find long fields of tulips throughout the region. People in Netherlands can enjoy better than average quality of life in many of the key indicators, such as work-life balance, housing or health status. However, the country ranks below average in environmental quality. And according to the OECD, the percentage of Dutch people reporting that they trust the government fell from 66% to 54% between 2007 and 2013.
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The world's 10 happiest countries —
People enjoy the beach at Oneroa Bay on Awiheke Island in New Zealand. New Zealand comes in at number 10 on the OECD Better Life Index, but ranks at the top in health status, along with Australia and Switzerland, and in social connections, along with Denmark and Iceland.
