For the seventh straight year, Finland topped the world’s list of happiest countries, according to 2024 World Happiness Report published on Wednesday.

Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, told Agence France-Presse that Finns’ close connection to nature and healthy work-life balance were key contributors to their life satisfaction.

Finns’ strong welfare society, trust in state authorities, low levels of corruption and free healthcare and education were also key.

Finland’s neighboring Nordic countries also kept their places among the 10 most cheerful nations, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden ranking second, third and fourth, respectively.

Afghanistan, plagued by a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban regained control in 2020, stayed at the bottom of the 143 countries surveyed.

For the first time since the report was published more than a decade ago, the United States and Germany were not among the 20 happiest nations, coming in 23rd and 24th respectively.