Are you content? This generally is a robust query to reply. In the present day, March 20, is the International Day of Happiness, a United Nations vacation since 2012. And it’s on today that the annual World Happiness Report is launched, rating the world’s happiest international locations. The report is printed by the Wellbeing Analysis Centre on the College of Oxford in partnership with Gallup, which polled residents of 147 international locations to see how blissful they really feel. So who’s on prime and whose rating is dropping? We wager you may guess; learn on to seek out out.
What’s the happiest nation on the earth?
Based on the 2025 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest nation on the earth for the eighth 12 months in a row. It’s adopted by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands in the annual survey launched on Thursday, March 20, 2025, that ranks international locations by how blissful their residents understand themselves to be. Northern European international locations dominate the highest 10, however Costa Rica (#6), Israel (#8), and Mexico (#10) are in there, too. (Be aware: Evaluation is predicated on a three-year common, so some surveying in Israel occurred after the assaults on October 7, 2023, which can have affected the information.)
It’s most likely no shock to know america’ happiness rating has stayed the identical or dropped annually since 2012 and is now ranked 24 out of the 147 international locations surveyed.
Entry to nature, reminiscent of in Finland’s densely forested Lapland area, is proven to enhance happiness.
Picture by Valdis Skudre/Shutterstock
Why are the Finnish so blissful?
“Finnish happiness boils all the way down to the straightforward issues in life: connecting with nature, caring for one’s thoughts and physique, and appreciating design and artwork round us,” Heli Jimenez, senior director of worldwide advertising at Enterprise Finland, stated in a press assertion. “Happiness could be present in moments of pure contentment you get when the setting is good: on a motorbike journey in a forest with the right playlist on or having fun with a post-sauna sausage whereas cooling off on a phenomenal summer time night,”
The World Happiness Report bases its annual rankings predominantly on knowledge from the life analysis query within the Gallup World Poll. In it, respondents are requested to price their present lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the very best life for them and 0 being the worst potential life. The international locations that made the highest 10 this 12 months ranged from Mexico’s 6.979 as much as 7.736 for Finland on the prime. Afghanistan had the bottom rating at 1.364.
Whereas these outcomes are primarily based totally on self-reported perceptions of satisfaction, components that the World Happiness Report says contribute to creating these evaluations higher in every nation embrace a better GDP per capita, a robust social assist system, greater life expectancy, higher freedom, absence of presidency and company corruption, and charitable giving. Finland’s GDP per capita isn’t the best—according to the World Bank, in 2023, it ranked twenty seventh whereas the U.S. stood at eleventh. Nevertheless, Finland has common and high-quality healthcare, social assist, and schooling methods, and inequality is low.
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Denmark ranked second within the 2025 World Happiness Report.
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The 30 happiest international locations on the earth in 2025
For those who’re searching for inspiration in your upcoming travels and like the concept of touring to a spot the place happiness is in ample supply, these are the 30 happiest international locations on the earth, based on the 2025 World Happiness Report.
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Eire
- Lithuania
- Austria
- Canada
- Slovenia
- Czechia
- United Arab Emirates
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Belize
- Poland
- Taiwan
- Uruguay
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
Most of the components examined by Gallup that contribute to happiness are out of our management. However there may be one which’s simpler to place into follow: Attempt to eat with different individuals. The report finds that “sharing meals has a robust impression on subjective well-being—on par with the affect of earnings and unemployment. Those that share extra meals with others report considerably greater ranges of life satisfaction and constructive have an effect on, and decrease ranges of detrimental have an effect on. That is true throughout ages, genders, international locations, cultures, and areas.”
Can touring to the happiest nation on the earth convey you higher pleasure?
Sure, if you happen to convey house the mindset and actions that make individuals in that nation blissful, reminiscent of spending time in nature. Go to Finland, the nation’s tourism workplace suggests seven ways to find happiness throughout your go to, together with witnessing the northern lights. Begin your happiness hunt in Helsinki with the capital’s Happiness Hacks, amongst them strolling in a serene forest or dancing at a music pageant.
For a dose of tradition, go to Amos Rex, a powerful underground up to date artwork museum lit by skylights, or take a break at Oodi, an energy-efficient public library on the middle of town designed to be the nation’s “front room.”
Past its cities, Finland has nature in spades together with quite a few islands, lots of which make for an idyllic remote escape. And there are many alternatives to benefit from the open air year-round—Finns have a detailed relationship with nature and get outdoors even during the coldest months. For individuals who wish to loosen up within the toastiest approach—whether or not you go for an icy forest stroll or not—heat up in one of many nation’s greater than 3 million saunas.
This text was initially printed in 2019 and most lately up to date on March 20, 2025, with present data. Lyndsey Matthews and Sophie Friedman contributed to the reporting of this story.
