The news that Canada has slid down to 25th place would be bad enough if we were talking about our world ranking in, say, kickboxing or beach volleyball.

But the sad truth is we’ve declined all the way down to the 25th spot when it comes to something that’s really important — happiness.

In many ways, happiness is a more meaningful measure of our overall national success than the always-highlighted economic measure of GDP per capita.

Of course, economic success matters. Absolutely. No poor country is happy.

It’s just that economic success — on its own — isn’t enough to make people happy.

That, at least, should be the takeaway from the World Happiness Report, produced each year by the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University, based on the self-reported happiness of citizens interviewed in countries around the world.

Before we get into why Canada is slipping badly in happiness — falling to 25th place this year, from 18th last year, and 5th a decade ago — let’s look at who’s happy.

Well, there’s no mistaking the big grin on the face of the Finns. Finland is the happiest country in the world — for the........

© rabble