Finland remains the world’s happiest country, while the US drops to its lowest rank ever

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, in addition to Finland, have once again secured top spots in the happiness rankings released in the annual report by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden maintain their positions in the top four, following Finland, and in the same sequence as before.

The ranking of countries was determined based on individuals’ responses to questions concerning their own life satisfaction. This research collaboration involved Gallup, an analytics company, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

“Happiness goes beyond mere wealth or economic expansion – it encompasses trust, social connections, and the assurance that others support you,” highlighted Jon Clifton, Gallup’s CEO. “To foster more resilient communities and stronger economies, it is imperative to invest in aspects that truly make a difference, which ultimately boil down to human connections.”

Sharing meals and having somebody to count on

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.

Overall, 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.

The U.S. falls to its lowest-ever position in the happiness ranking

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 United States 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.

Almost one-fifth of young adults globally have no social support

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 to 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.