Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored index that Afghanistan as the unhappiest.

The latest list was completed before Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

In the list, Denmark is ranked second happiest followed by Iceland, Switzerland and Netherlands. 

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a co-author of the index, said: ‘This presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims.’

The World Happiness Report, now in its 10th year, is based on people’s own assessment of their happiness, as well as economic and social data.

It assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to 10, based on an average of data over a three-year period.