The 2025 World Happiness Report was recently released this month – revealing that the U.S. not only trails behind other countries in North America, but several European countries as well.
The study, which is published every year by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, typically ranks Nordic countries highly. The theme of this year’s report is the “impact of caring and sharing on people’s happiness,” according to the study.
Several factors, including inequality, generosity, freedom, life expectancy and perceptions of corruption, all contribute to the rankings – but one question related to happiness is weighed heavily by researchers.
“Our global happiness ranking is based on a single question that asks people to evaluate the quality of their life on a 0–10 scale,” the site explains.
PLUNGING OPTIMISM AMONG YOUTH LOWERS GLOBAL HAPPINESS RANKINGS FOR US AND WESTERN EUROPE
Here is how the top 25 countries rank, on a scale from most to least happy:
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. The Netherlands
6. Costa Rica
7. Norway
8. Israel
9. Luxembourg
10. Mexico
11. Australia
12. New Zealand
13. Switzerland
14. Belgium
HERE ARE THE 10 HAPPIEST CITIES IN AMERICA, WITH SOME ‘ASTONISHING’ LOCATIONS
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
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The U.S. has ranked low in the study over the past few years, despite being ranked as the 11th happiest country in 2011. The study also ranked U.S. as the 115th freest country, with the study asking participants, “Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?”
Despite its low happiness and freedom ranking, the U.S. boasts a high GDP at $76,276 per capita and is ranked in fourth place for GDP. The U.S. also ranked 12th and 16th in social support and generosity, respectively.
“The increasing number of people who eat alone is one reason for declining wellbeing in the United States,” the study notes, adding that the decline in happiness and social trust in the U.S. “explains a large share of the rise in political polarization and votes against ‘the system.'”
Finland, on the other hand, has ranked at the top of the World Happiness Report since 2018. The study credits its “universally available and high-quality health, education, and social support systems,” and concluded that inequality of wellbeing is low in the country.
“Our annual happiness ranking is, once again, led by Nordic countries, with Finland still first among them,” the study’s key insights concluded. “The Nordic countries also rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets.”
You can view the study’s full findings by clicking here.
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