Despite entering its fifth month of war in Gaza, Israel was recently ranked as the world’s fifth happiest country by the 2024 World Happiness Report, dropping only one place from last year. 

Sponsored by the UN, the report is based on a three-year polling average of the results of a happiness measurement survey conducted internationally by the polling company Gallup. 

The index measures happiness based on three criterias: life evaluation, positive emotions and negative emotions. In this year’s report, life evaluation measurements fell sharply in Israel, as did the statistics for positive emotions. In fact, Israel was ranked 60th in the negative emotions index this year, compared to 119th in last year’s report. 

Even still, among young people (those below the age of 30), Israel is ranked second in the world in this year’s happiness report. Among those over 60 Israel is ranked 18th. 

Danny Friedlander, a clinical psychologist and a lecturer at Peres Academic Center told Channel 12 that the analysis of the report reveals that Israel consistently scores high on the index due to the measure that evaluates community support. 

He noted that Israelis feel they always have someone to rely on when it comes to their social environment, family and friends. 

The expert believes that if the social division that characterized the justice reform protests last year intensifies, Israel’s ranking in the report will begin to drop.  

The 2024 report was topped by Finland for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. Rounding up the top 10 are Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.