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2. Iceland

Iceland
Iceland took second place in the world’s happiest countries ranking © Andrey Andreyev/Unsplash

Iceland is one of those countries that many predicted would fare poorly in the face of Covid-19, due to its climate and other factors. This, however, is not how things turned out.

While it’s still early to draw precise conclusions for 2021, the data from 2020 suggests that the countries that prioritised containing infections are also the ones that achieved the best social and economic outcomes.