Wanderlust Wednesday: The Happiest Place on Earth

According to the World Happiness Report, Norway topped the list as this worlds happiest place. Norway is the overall happiest country in the world, even though the oil prices dropped. Shortly followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland in a tight pack. All the top ten countries have high scores in the six categories. The ranking is as followed: Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, with Australia and Sweden tied for 9^th place. The United States ranked 14th.

There are some amazing and iconic things to do in Norway, and Marie with To Europe and Beyond has listed seven of those things in her blog post.

In 2013, Norway ranked second on the world happiness report. Not only are there beautiful locations for photo ops, but the crime rate is low. At that time, Huffington Post listed 25 reasons why Norway is greatest place on earth. All of those reasons still ring true! Beautiful Norway boasts of seaside cities with spectacular mountain views. And on Ultimate Places, the describe 21 best things to do in Norway.

Norway seems to have it all – lakes for fishing, snow for skiing, land for hiking, and cities for exploring. But before you go, read Lisa’s blog post on Fjords & Beaches, about things to consider when visiting Norway.

Other things to see in Norway include: The Preikestolen, also known as the Pulpit Rock, is a steep cliff in Forsand, Ryfylke, Norway; The Northern Lights in Tromso City; Bondhusdalen, a glacier-fed crystal clear lake; Viking Swords at Stavengers Swords Monument.

Speaking of Vikings, Christa of The Fairytale Traveler shares 10 amazing Viking sites in Norway that anyone who is fascinated by Vikings would find interesting.

If you’re interested in Norway for more than just its top ranking on the World Happiness Report, then you may find the following infograph interesting. (Source: Visit Norway)

Data is collected from people in over 150 countries. Each variable measured reveals a populated-weighted average score on a scale running from 0 to 10 that is tracked over time and compared against other countries. These variables currently include: real GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption. Each country is also compared against a hypothetical nation called Dystopia. Dystopia represents the lowest national averages for each key variable and is, along with residual error, used as a regression benchmark. (Source: Wikipedia)

Have you been to Norway? What was your reason for visiting the happiest place on earth? Did you see the Northern Lights? Leave a comment below and let me know if you agree with this report.

Yours Truly,
Vanessa