Flash Bulletin: The 2025 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWorld Happiness Report,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ featuring the happiest countries in the world, is out!
Cue the turquoise waters with sailboats in the background. Is Tahiti in the top five? How about Bali? Or other island paradises?
Not so fast. You may be surprised that the top five are actually in colder climates ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and the happiness markers have more to do with other factors than lazing around in a hammock with a tropical beverage.
The Top 10
Here are the current top rankings:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
Are you surprised? Those Scandinavian countries are at it again, with Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway consistently making the top 10!
Survey says
The World Happiness Report is a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the WHR’s Editorial Board. The website, , is heavily engaged in its compilation and distribution.
The report draws on data from more than 140 countries. The countries are ranked on happiness, based on their average evaluations for the three preceding years, in this yearÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s case 2022-2024.
Last year, the U.S. came in at No. 23. This year it ranked 24th. In the United States and parts of Europe, declining happiness and social trust have been linked, among other items, to political polarization.
According to , the study also points out a link in the decline in the United States to the drop in well-being among people under the age of 30. The U.S. scores higher with older populations, though.
And, on a brighter note, the study shows that kindness ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and looking out for one another ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” has increased for the most part since the pandemic, in contrast to the period of 2017-2019.
Happiness factors
Six key factors were used to evaluate happiness in this recurring survey:
Social support
- Income
- Health
- Freedom
- Generosity
- Absence of corruption
Breaking these categories down a little further, the survey measured healthy life expectancy, gross domestic product, employment rate, workforce well-being, trust in oneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s government and trust in each other.
WhatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s up with Scandinavia?
IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been following these surveys since they began in 2012, and IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been intrigued with the consistently positive rankings of Scandinavian countries.
One of the major attributes of this region is the overall sense of trust in their communities. I remember watching a TV magazine story about this topic several years ago. It featured a mother leaving her baby carriage in the public square to go into a store.
When questioned whether she was worried about leaving her child, the mother nonchalantly replied, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOh, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll take care of her.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
That image has stuck with me, as this would not be the case in many areas. These countries rank high in the return of lost wallets, as well.
I also love the concept of hygge ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” a Danish and Norwegian word ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” that describes a cozy, contented mood evoked by comfort and conviviality.
Sign me up! Who wouldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t want more of this?
Satisfaction with Life Scale
Let’s take a look at the broad components that go into most people’s experience of happiness and well-being, as described by the Satisfaction with Life Scale used in the World Happiness Report and relayed by .:
- Social relationships
- Purpose ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” work, school or meaningful role
- Personal worth
Social relationships
According to , those who score high on life-satisfaction scales tend to have close and supportive family and friends, whereas those who do not have close friends and family are more likely to be lonely and dissatisfied.
This can also be situational. The loss of a close family member or friend can tip the scale and cause dissatisfaction with life ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and it can take quite a while to bounce back.
Sharing meals, supporting others and trusting others were also found to be contributing factors to overall happiness.
Purposeful involvement
Another life-satisfaction marker is purposeful involvement with work or school — or performance in an important role such as homemaker or grandparent, as reported by :
When the person enjoys his or her involvement ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” whether it is paid or unpaid ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and feels that it is meaningful, this contributes to life satisfaction.
When work is going poorly because of bad circumstances or a poor fit with the personÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s strengths, this can lower satisfaction.
When a person has important goals and is failing to make adequate progress toward them, this can also lead to life dissatisfaction.
Personal worth
Findings from the Satisfaction with Life Scale from the World Happiness Report reveal that oneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s personal assessment, as measured by the following categories, also represent key factors in life satisfaction:
- Self-satisfaction ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥“pursuit of goals in alignment with values
- Learning and growth
- Spiritual or religious life ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” believing in something greater than themselves.
- Leisure
When these sources of worth are compromised, they can be powerful sources of dissatisfaction.
A personÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s temperament ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” a general tendency to be happy or unhappy ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” was also found to color the responses from respondents and contribute to their perspectives on life.
The unhappiest countries
Besides the happiest countries in the world, the World Happiness Report also looked at places where people are the most miserable.
This year the countries of Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Venezuela were ranked as the bottom five of the unhappiest countries in the world.
Unfortunately, residents in these areas lack many of the conditions necessary for a happy foundation. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s hard to work oneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s way up to self-actualization when the basic necessities of food, shelter and safety are absent.
Rounding out the Top 20
Digging a little deeper, the World Happiness Report identified these rankings ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” from No. 11 to No. 20:
11. Australia
12. New Zealand
13. Switzerland
14. Belgium
15. Ireland
16. Lithuania
17. Austria
18. Canada
19. Slovenia
20. Czech Republic
Packing your bags?
I doubt there will be a mass migration to Finland as a result of the World Happiness Report, although we can get a sneak peek of life in this area ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and others ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” that may contribute to overall happiness.
Geography is not the magic bullet, though, when it comes to happiness. And itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s more of an ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œinside job.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
As Abraham Lincoln put it (and he suffered from depression), ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMost folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
