Israel ranked 14th happiest country in the world—Tel Aviv, 8th happiest city

I knew there was a reason I am generally happy! Apparently I am living in the 8th happiest city in the world, Tel Aviv!

According to the 2020 World Happiness Report published last week, Israel is the world’s 14th-happiest country. The report, produced by the United Nations and the Ernesto Illy Foundation, tracks how citizens of different countries to access their level of happiness.

Israel dropped one place from last year when it came in 13th. But in a newly added ranking of cities around the world, Tel Aviv came in as the 8th happiest city and Jerusalem at 33.\

“The global pandemic poses great risks for some of the main supports for well-being, most especially health and income,” the report’s editors explain. “As revealed by earlier studies of earthquakes, floods, storms, tsunamis and even economic crises, a high trust society quite naturally looks for and finds co-operative ways to work together to repair the damage and rebuild better lives. This has led sometimes to surprising increases in happiness in the wake of what might otherwise seem to be unmitigated disasters.”

One of the reasons Israel consistently scores high is its communal sense of faith.

“It’s part of what’s deteriorated in the United States, this idea that we’re all in this together. That’s really being tested,” said Jeffrey D. Sachs, a professor at Columbia University and director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.