Is the grass greener elsewhere? In France, we love to complain but without having the certainty that we are happier away from France. Researchers have compiled a ranking of cities with the happiest residents. To do this, head…
Although science has never really succeeded in precisely measuring happiness, numerous studies are nevertheless carried out all over the world. Every year, the Institute for Quality of Life, an organization specializing in the issue, publishes its index of the happiest cities in the world. To draw up this famous ranking, the experts base themselves on 5 main criteria: citizens, local governance, the environment, the economy and mobility.
So, if you’ve been wanting elsewhere lately, don’t move. The very serious Institute has just published its results for the current year. If Finland won hands down the gold medal for the happiest country in the world this year, in terms of cities, it is not it which arrives on the first step of the podium. And it’s not France either… Far from it! Worse: no city in France appears in the top 20 places in the said ranking. The first French metropolis to appear there is Bordeaux and it only comes in 24th place. Then come Lyon at 45th and Montpellier at 68th. As for Paris… it doesn’t even appear in the top 250 places. Do we offer you a tissue?
Zurich, Switzerland, comes in second in the ranking of the happiest cities in the world, while Berlin, Germany, takes the bronze medal. Next in line are Gothenburg (Sweden), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland), Bristol (United Kingdom), Copenhagen (Denmark), Geneva (Switzerland) and Munich (Germany).
While France does not have any cities in the top 20 of the said ranking, Denmark can, however, boast of seeing four of its metropolises rise to this top. Moreover, the first step of the podium is occupied by a port city populated by 300,000 inhabitants per year: Aarhus.
The second city in the country, it is particularly renowned for its rich cultural life and its many green spaces. And it had already won second place on the same podium in 2020! The level of education is high, the unemployment rate incredibly low, crime is constantly falling, the transport network is sophisticated and efficient and the healthcare system remains efficient… What more could you ask for? Who knows, Aarhus might be the next city you’ll set down your suitcases in?
