The United Nations General Assembly's Second World Happiness Report is finally out, and the United States landed 17th, but which countries made it to the top 10 spot?

The World Happiness Report is roughly based on several measured parameters of well-being and the factors that a country can contribute to that well-being; the happiness dated was gathered since 2005, and most of the research information came from the Gallup World Poll, which surveyed over 150 countries all over the world, Live Science reported Monday.

The updated study on the happiest people suggests that the happiest place to live in is in Scandinavia.

The list was topped by Denmark, followed by Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Canada. The 7th through 10th spots were respectively taken by Finland, Austria, Iceland, and Australia.

According to Mother Nature Network, the previous study showed that although rich people tend to be happier that poor people, no evidence could prove that increasing the GDP in a country can positively affect or boost its citizens' well-being. The report even cited the United States which has tripled its GDP since the 1960s, yet the well-being of its citizens remains stagnated as of late.

The ranking showed that Scandinavian countries topped as the happiest countries in the world beating the United States, that ranked 17th, bested by Mexico, Panama, and the United Arab Emirates.

The study enabled participating countries to rate their happiness on a scale of 1 to 10, and on average, most of the 150 countries rated a 5.1.

Although some countries remained on the same spots, 61 of the participants showed improve rate of happiness over the years including Saharan Africa and Latin America, while 41 countries, mostly industrial nations, have become unhappier.

Mother Nature Network reported that six key metrics were found to be at the interplay of the rankings: real GDP per capita, perceived freedom in decision-making, health life expectancy, freedom from corruption, someone to count on, and generosity.

In the study, it was noted that in order for some countries to boost their people's happiness they had to tweak their policies to impact the key metrics especially the one pertaining to corruption.

It was also found out that although clinical depression and anxiety have a huge impact on the well-being of people in general, most policy-makers neglect to resolve mental health issues.

"There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being," Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Co-Author of the Study Jeffery Sachs said.

"More and more world leaders are talking about the importance of well-being as a guide for their nations and the world," Sachs added. "The World Happiness Report 2013 offers rich evidence that the systematic measurement and analysis of happiness can teach us a lot about ways to improve the world's well-being and sustainable development."