In 2025, the US falls to a historic low. View the worldwide ranks for the World Happiness Report.

Posted by David March 20, 2025
In 2025, the US falls to a historic low. View the worldwide ranks for the World Happiness Report.

After falling to a historic low on the worldwide rankings list, the United States is still on a downward trajectory on the World Happiness Report.

For the first time in the history of the survey, the United States dropped out of the top 20 last year, finishing at number 23. According to the 2025 study, which was released on Thursday, Americans have fallen to No. 24.

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Every year, a number of groups publish a study that rates the general level of happiness in each nation from highest to lowest. Nordic nations dominate the first four positions on the list, once again taking the top place.

The World Happiness Report also provides insightful data, such as the fact that a rise in political division in the United States and other areas of Europe is a result of a decline in pleasure and social trust.

Learn more about this year’s study, including the worldwide rankings and the methodology used by academics to determine joy.

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Who are the 25 happiest countries?

  1. Finland
  2. Denmark
  3. Iceland
  4. Sweden
  5. Netherlands
  6. Costa Rica
  7. Norway
  8. Israel
  9. Luxembourg
  10. Mexico
  11. Australia
  12. New Zealand
  13. Switzerland
  14. Belgium
  15. Ireland
  16. Lithuania
  17. Austria
  18. Canada
  19. Slovenia
  20. Czechia
  21. United Arab Emirates
  22. Germany
  23. United Kingdom
  24. United States
  25. Belize

Costa Rica and Mexico enter the top 10 for first time

Costa Rica and Mexico both made their top 10 debut on the World Happiness Report this year, coming in at the No. 6 and No. 10 spots, respectively.

European nations Lithuania (No. 16), Slovenia (No. 19) and Czechia (No. 20) are continuing upward trends, according to the report.

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The report also listed three nations that have improved happiness since the ranking began in 2012: Serbia (No. 31), Bulgaria (No. 81), and Georgia (No. 91).

What increases happiness in countries?

According to the survey, a number of characteristics, including income and work status as well as meal sharing, are associated with overall wellbeing.

According to the survey, while more Europeans live alone, homes with four to five individuals tend to have the greatest levels of happiness in both Mexico and Europe. According to research, young individuals need social ties in order to prevent the negative consequences of stress.

According to the survey, nations with high rates of kindness and charity tend to have lower rates of mortality from despair-related causes including drug overdoses and suicides.

What is the World Happiness Report?

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Gallup, the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, and the WHR (World Happiness Report) Editorial Board collaborate to produce the World Happiness Report, which provides information on happiness levels throughout the world.

“The World Happiness Report reflects a worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy,” according to its official website. “It reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.”

How do World Happiness Report researchers measure happiness?

Researchers from throughout the world examine data from the Gallup World Poll, according to the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

More than 100,000 respondents from all around the globe participate in the survey.

People in several nations use a ladder with ten stages to rate their level of happiness. A person’s life might be at its worst, which is represented by the first and lowest rung of the ladder. A person’s finest life is symbolized by the tenth and highest step. People are then asked by researchers which stage they think they are on.

World Happiness Report: What factors impact happiness?

The UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network lists six factors that can explain the different levels of happiness.

  • Social Support : This is the best predictor of happiness. If people feel like they have at least one person they can reach out to when they’re in need, they are more likely to feel secure.
  • GDP per capita : This is how much a country produces divided by its population.
  • A healthy life expectancy : Researchers look at the physical and mental health of a country’s population.
  • Freedom to make life choices: This plays a key role in how happy one feels.
  • Generosity : This factor looks at how charitable a country’s people are.
  • Perception of Corruption : How corrupt are a country’s government and business policies? This factor looks at both and researchers use what they find to estimate happiness levels.

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