Research and studies suggest that happiness is one of the keys to living a longer life. And let’s face it; even if it wasn’t, most people would prefer to feel happy than angry, fearful, anxious, or any of those other negative emotions out there.
Starting in 2012, the World Happiness Report (WHR) has been an annual study that ranks countries from the most to least overall happiness. Several organizations conduct the annual report, which combines wellbeing data from 147 countries. The annual report is then published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and WHR’s Editorial Board.
Countries are ranked on happiness based on their average life evaluations over the three preceding years (in this case, 2022-2024). Their global happiness ranking is based on a single question from the Gallup World Poll, derived from the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale (Cantril Ladder):
Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?
The survey asks each participant to score their life as a whole. WHR’s rankings are then based on those life evaluations. The report then looks at six key variables to help explain life evaluations:
- GDP per capita
- social support
- healthy life expectancy
- freedom
- generosity
- perceptions of corruption
More about their methodology can be found in WHR’s Frequently Asked Questions.
Key Findings From the 2025 Report
According to the summary of the WHR:
- Benevolent acts and expected kindness both matter for individual happiness levels.
- People are increasingly pessimistic about the benevolence of others. Yet our well being depends on our perceptions of others’ benevolence, as well as their actual benevolence.
- Benevolence increased during COVID-19 in every region of the world. People needed more help and others responded. This benevolence bump has been sustained since then. Despite a fall from 2023 to 2024, benevolent acts are still about 10% above their pre-pandemic level.
- The degree of benevolence in a country also has a profound impact on its politics. Populism is largely due to unhappiness. But whether populists are on the left or the right depends on trust. People who trust others veer to the left, those who do not veer to the right.
- The decline in happiness and social trust in both Europe and the United States explains a large share of the rise in political polarization and votes against ‘the system’.
- Trends towards increased loneliness are most evident among young people.
- “Death of despair” (read: death by suicide or substance abuse) are falling in the majority of countries. Noted exceptions are the United States and South Korea.
- Increasing prosocial behavior (donating, volunteering, and helping strangers) is connected to decreasing deaths of despair.
- People living on their own often experience lower levels of happiness. People in very large households can also experience lower happiness, probably linked to diminished economic satisfaction.
New Rankings and Surprises
- Finland is the happiest country for the 8th year in a row. That’s attributed, in part, to their social support systems that look out for residents’ welfare, the country’s sense of unity and mutual trust, and a less materialistic mindset.
- The top 4 happiest countries are all Nordic. They took the Top Four slots, in the same order, last year, too (Norway is again #7).
- Both Mexico (#10) and Costa Rica (#6) are in the top ten happiest countries for the first time this year. Both countries’ residents have strong social networks, strong perceptions about the direction of their economy, and confidence in leaders and institutions.
How the U.S. ranked
In 2024, the U.S. fell out of the top 20 for the first time in the report’s history – we were listed as the 23rd happiest country. Things got even worse in the 2025 report; Americans dropped again, and we’re down to #24.
The 25 happiest countries
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Lithuania
- Austria
- Canada
- Slovenia
- Czechia
- United Arab Emirates
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Belize
You can click here for a chart of all 147 countries.
“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.”
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