The happiest people in the world may live in Scandinavia, a new study suggests.

That's according to the report  published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The report ranks countries based on several measures of well-being and analyzes the factors that contribute to that well-being, in the hopes that policy makers will incorporate the data into their decision making processes.

The report rated Danes as the happiest people in the world (out of 156 nations ranked), with Norwegians as a close second,  Swedes fifth, and Finns in seventh  place.

The ten happiest countries in the world

1. Denmark
2. Norway
3. Switzerland
4. The Netherlands
5. Sweden
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. Austria
9. Iceland
10. Australia

Source: www.thelocal.se