The 2025 World Happiness Report ranks Finland as the happiest country for the eighth year in a row, followed by other Nordic nations like Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. The report, a collaboration between Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, is based on self-reported life evaluations.
The study reveals that happiness isn't solely determined by wealth or economic growth but also by social factors such as trust, strong social connections, and a sense of community support. Other contributing factors include:
Interestingly, the study shows that people are more pessimistic about community kindness than the actual rates of wallet returns suggest.
While European countries largely dominate the top rankings, Israel notably places 8th despite the ongoing war. Costa Rica and Mexico enter the top 10 for the first time. Conversely, the United States falls to its lowest-ever position (24th), with a significant increase in the number of people dining alone. The United Kingdom also reports its lowest life evaluation score since 2017. Afghanistan remains the unhappiest country, with Afghan women reporting particularly difficult circumstances. A concerning trend is the 39% increase since 2006 in young adults (19% in 2023) reporting a lack of social support.
Country rankings are based on self-reported life evaluations averaged from 2022 to 2024, considering factors like GDP per capita, health expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity, and perceived corruption.
Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday.
Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.
Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
“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.”
Researchers say that beyond health and wealth, some factors that influence happiness sound deceptively simple: sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support, and household size. In Mexico and Europe, for example, a household size of four to five people predicts the highest levels of happiness, the study said.
Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.
As an example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their lost wallet is a strong predictor of the overall happiness of a population.
Nordic nations rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets, the study found.
Over all, researchers said global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality – actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect.
Finland once again tops the World Happiness Report which was released on Thursday and measures social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption to determine a country's national happiness.
Reuters
While European countries dominate the top 20 in the ranking, there were some exceptions. Despite the war with Hamas, Israel came in at 8th. Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time, ranking at 6th and 10th respectively.
When it comes to decreasing happiness – or growing unhappiness – the United States has dropped to its lowest-ever position at 24, having previously peaked at 11th place in 2012. The report states that the number of people dining alone in the U.S. has increased 53% over the past two decades.
The United Kingdom, at position 23, is reporting its lowest average life evaluation since the 2017 report.
Afghanistan is again ranked as the unhappiest country in the world, with Afghan women saying their lives are especially difficult.
Sierra Leone in western Africa is the second unhappiest, followed by Lebanon, ranking the 3rd from the bottom.
In a concerning development, the study said 19% of young adults across the world reported in 2023 that they have no one they could count on for social support. That is a 39% increase compared with 2006.
All countries are ranked according to their self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022 to 2024.
Experts in economics, psychology, sociology and beyond then seek to explain the variations across countries and over time using factors such as GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
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