So, what do you suppose is the happiest nation in the world? Here’s a hint: it’s not us.

Each year in March, the United Nations releases what it calls the World Happiness Report.

In the 2024 report, for the seventh year in a row, the poll found that the country with the happiest people in the world is Finland. The report cites the reason for this. Despite an unusually high tax rate, Finns also enjoy lower wealth inequality, excellent access to health care, long life expectancies, high immigration rates, low corruption, strong support for those who need help from the state or communities, an educational system that highly values its teachers and effective vaccine management policies that have made Finland’s infection rates among the lowest in the world.

And when you lose your wallet in the street, you can always be assured that it will be returned to you intact. As Bobby McFerrin croons, “Don’t worry, be happy.”

Number two on the happiness list is Denmark (although, maybe not this year since Denmark hasn’t been very happy with us Greenland-grubbing Americans lately). Iceland, coming in at number three on the U.N. list, is also a very happy nation, which might sound surprising. I mean, Iceland? Just the thought of Iceland sends shivers down my spine.

We might wonder, how could Icelanders be so happy when they live in such a harsh climate, isolated in the cold North Atlantic, endure 20 hours of darkness each day in the winter, and where most people must rely on the uncertainties and dangers of the fishing industry in order to earn a living.

In case you’re wondering, the United States nabbed the rather unimpressive 23rd spot, down three places from last year’s report. By the way, when the United Nations first began issuing the World Happiness Report in 2012, the United States took fifth place. Now, we’ve slipped to 23rd place. Apparently, we are not very happy campers.

Last June, I had the opportunity to visit Iceland with my nephew for several days, and yes, the Icelanders I met seemed to be very happy indeed, despite a very active volcano at the time, overpriced restaurants and a mid-June snow flurry with unrelenting 40-mile-per-hour winds. On my first sunny but frigid day in Iceland, my nephew and I both bought beautifully warm sweaters from a very happy vendor, which made us both happy and comfortable.

What does Iceland have that we Americans don’t have? One sociologist offered this explanation: The Icelandic culture is characterized by the harshness and unpredictability of nature, so its people have a tolerant attitude to the problems of life. Furthermore, the country’s isolation gives Icelanders a strong sense of community that helps to sustain them by reminding them that they are not alone. The equation is simple: Community and adaptability equals happiness.

Whether or not it’s accurate, this United Nations report reminds us that, as human beings, we are very concerned about happiness: both what happiness is and how to achieve it. As human beings we crave happiness. If we don’t, there’s something seriously wrong with us.

The United Nations World Happiness Report reveals that Finns and Icelanders tend to be happy people not because they live in a tropical paradise and enjoy an easy life, but rather quite the contrary. That’s a good thing, because we don’t live in a Garden of Eden either. But we Americans might learn a valuable lesson from the Finns and Islanders.

I also had the opportunity to visit Hawaii, a truly tropical paradise, this past year. If I had a choice to go back to Iceland or Hawaii, hands-down, I’d choose Iceland in a heartbeat.