Fourteen of the top 20 nations are European, but Western nations are less happy now than a decade ago, according to the World Happiness Report.
Finland has held the top rank for eight years in a row. | Jussi Nukari/AFP via Getty Images
March 20, 2025 1:50 pm CET
Nordic countries continue to lead in the ranking of the world’s happiest nations, with Finland taking the top spot, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report published Thursday.
Finland has held the top rank for eight years in a row.
At the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan ranks as the least happy among 147 countries, following Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lebanon and Sierra Leone.
The report, published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, is based on Gallup World Poll data, which ranks countries according to self-assessed life evaluations averaged over the years 2022-2024. Approximately 1,000 respondents from each country were surveyed, rating their current lives on a scale of 1 to 10.
Other key factors considered in the rankings included gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make key life decisions, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
Belgium secured the 14th spot — its highest ranking since 2011.
The five countries that have experienced the greatest improvements in happiness, according to the report, are Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Latvia and Romania. Meanwhile, the United States, Switzerland and Canada are among some of the biggest losers.
In general, Western industrialized countries are now less happy than they were between 2005
and 2010, the report says.
In Europe and the U.S., the report draws a connection between the decline in happiness and social trust and the rise in political polarization and votes against “the system,” or for right-wing and populist parties.
However, 14 of the top 20 happiest countries are still European, with Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Canada rounding out the list.