It's been more than 10 years since the first-ever World Happiness Report was released in 2012. Since then, the United Nations has released an annual ranking of the world's happiest countries—the places where the populations are, on average, more content than in other destinations. In that time, many nations have gone through a multi-year pandemic, natural disasters, and wars—but the UN and governments across the globe remain committed to finding out what, exactly, makes people happier so they can develop policies to increase well-being.
This research, released on March 20 (which is also World Happiness Day), is based on a three-year average of each population's assessment of their quality of life. It takes into account six key factors that impact happiness: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption. It also investigates the distribution of happiness within countries. Nations where the “happiness gap” is smaller—meaning the overall population has similar experiences of the six factors listed above—tend to score higher.
For the first time, the report has also given separate rankings by age group, looking at how happiness ratings may differ for those under the age of 30 (Lithuania tops this list) and over the age of 60 (Denmark is the world’s happiest nation for this subset). The new research also compares generations, finding that “those born before 1965 are, on average, happier than those born since 1980. Among Millennials, evaluation of one’s own life drops with each year of age, while among Boomers life satisfaction increases with age.”
While this may be a sobering data point, the study points to some optimistic conclusions as well. In analyzing the impact of the Covid crisis on people's attitudes towards life, the study found that the pandemic “led to a worldwide increase in the proportion of people who have helped others in need," creating a significant increase in generational benevolence—particularly for the “Millennials and Generation Z, who are even more likely than their predecessors to help others in need."
How does the study work?
The UN's World Happiness Report is based on participant self-assessment. The people polled in the study evaluate their own lives by placing themselves on something called the Cantril Scale, which is essentially a ladder of self-satisfaction. The top of the ladder, or 10, would be the happiest you can be, while the bottom of the ladder, or 0, would be the least happy you can be.
The World Happiness Report then measures and investigates a number of factors that could correlate with the self-reported happiness of each country's population. While experts explain the results using the six factors previously stated, it is important to remember that the ranking itself is based on the answers provided by people at the time of polling, so it doesn't necessarily taking into account recent current events. Below, check out the top 20 list to see if your home country—or next travel destination—made the cut.
What are the happiest countries in the world?
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Costa Rica
- Kuwait
- Austria
- Canada
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Czechia
- Lithuania
- United Kingdom
Editor's note: This ranking is based on a three-year average of life evaluations surveyed over 2021-2023. According to the report, the most recent survey in Israel was conducted after the October 7, 2023 attacks, but before the subsequent escalation in warfare.
How have the rankings changed since last year?
While the top ten countries remain largely unchanged compared to last year's rankings, there has been plenty of movement in the top twenty. This year, Costa Rica (ranked #12) and Kuwait (ranked #13) are new entrants to the top 20 list. Meanwhile, the United States and Germany both fell off the top 20 rankings, dropping from #15 and #16 last year to #23 and #24 this year. At the bottom of the list, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were once again ranked among the five least-happy countries in the world.
