{"id":158643,"date":"2025-03-26T23:34:16","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T23:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/ranked-happiest-countries-in-the-world-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T23:34:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T23:34:16","slug":"ranked-happiest-countries-in-the-world-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=158643","title":{"rendered":"Ranked: happiest countries in the world 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Finland is the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year. We take a look at the latest World Happiness Report<\/p>\n

Happiness is a nebulous thing; hard to grasp and harder to hold onto. Scientists, economists and philosophers have defined it through the ages as a combination of different things, among them health, wealth, companionship and security.<\/p>\n

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Ever since 2011, when the United Nations (UN) adopted a resolution<\/a> sponsored by Bhutan<\/a>, entitled \u2018Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development\u2019, governments have worked to give more weight to happiness and well-being when determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development.<\/p>\n

\"The\"The<\/a>
S_jakkarin\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span> Bhutan pioneered recognising happiness and well-being<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As such, various indices attempt to rank the happiest countries in the world annually. Now in its 11th year, the World Happiness Report<\/a> from the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Solutions Network<\/a> (SDSN) is particularly interesting as it ranks 147 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHappiness isn\u2019t just about wealth or growth \u2014 it\u2019s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back. This year\u2019s report proves we underestimate how kind the world really is. If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The SDSN employs an international group of economists, neuroscientists and statisticians to survey citizens on their subjective well-being to produce a comprehensive annual list of the happiest countries in the world.<\/p>\n

\"A\"A<\/a>
DENIS BELITSKY\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/a><\/span> Finland remains the world\u2019s happiest country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Assessing happiness<\/h2>\n

SDSN highlights that its rankings are not an\u00a0index like the longer-running\u00a0Human Development Index\u00a0(HDI) and the more recent\u00a0Happy Planet Index<\/a>\u00a0(HPI). Private sponsors often influence these and only partly draw on self-assessment \u2013 or make no use of it at all.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHuman happiness is driven by our relationships with others. Investing in positive social connections and engaging in benevolent actions are both matched by greater happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara B Aknin, World Happiness Report<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

SDSN emphasises that its findings draw heavily on data from population samples in each country, using a life evaluation survey to produce subjective well-being data. The report draws on interviews with over 100,000 people across 147 countries.<\/p>\n

\"a\"a<\/a>
WHR<\/span> Mapped: the happiest countries in the world 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The report principally relies on asking a straightforward, subjective question of more than 1,000 people in each country:<\/p>\n

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\u201cImagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top.<\/p>\n

The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

World Happiness Report<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is not to say the report is without a scientific basis. Economic and social factors are considered\u00a0along with the survey (namely GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption), but\u00a0the focus is\u00a0on how happy citizens say they are, not how happy\u00a0statisticians\u00a0think they should be.<\/p>\n

10 happiest countries<\/h2>\n

Once again, Finland<\/a> has been named the happiest country in the world, with a score of 7.736 out of 10. It came above three other Nordic countries, while Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time.<\/p>\n

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  1. Finland<\/li>\n
  2. Denmark<\/li>\n
  3. Iceland<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Sweden<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Netherlands<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Costa Rica<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Norway<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Israel<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Luxembourg<\/li>\n
  10. Mexico<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"A\"A<\/a>
    Rubi Rodriguez Martinez\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span> Mexico is the world\u2019s 10th happiest country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    10 unhappiest countries<\/h2>\n

    At the other end of the table, war-scarred Afghanistan remains last as its humanitarian crisis continues to deepen after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.<\/p>\n

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    1. Afghanistan<\/li>\n
    2. Sierra Leone<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Lebanon<\/a><\/li>\n
    4. Malawi<\/li>\n
    5. Zimbabwe<\/a><\/li>\n
    6. Botswana<\/a><\/li>\n
    7. DR Congo<\/a><\/li>\n
    8. Yemen<\/li>\n
    9. Comoros<\/a><\/li>\n
    10. Lesotho<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The geography of happiness<\/h2>\n

      Unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between unhappiness and the world\u2019s poorest<\/a> and\u00a0most dangerous\u00a0countries<\/a>. Seven of the 10 unhappiest nations are in Africa, with the other three, Afghanistan, Yemen and Lebanon, facing political and financial instability.<\/p>\n

      Seven of the 10 happiest countries are European nations, with only Costa Rica, Israel and Mexico from outside Europe. Costa Rica<\/a>, in 6th, is the highest-ranked country in the Americas. Both the UK and the US have slipped down the list to 23rd and 24th, respectively \u2013 the lowest-ever position for the latter.<\/p>\n

      \"a\"a<\/a>
      NICHOLAS COURTNEY\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/a><\/span> Costa Rica is the happiest country in the Americas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Australia and New Zealand<\/a> have both dropped one place to 11th and 12th. Afghanistan remains bottom of the overall rankings as the world\u2019s unhappiest country.<\/p>\n

      The happiest country in Asia is Taiwan, in 27th place, followed by Singapore in 34th. Uruguay<\/a> (28th) is the happiest country in South America, and Mauritius<\/a> (78) is the happiest country in Africa.<\/p>\n

      Lost wallets + other findings<\/h2>\n

      The study also found strangers are approximately twice as kind as people thought. It measured trust in strangers by deliberately losing wallets and noting how many were returned. The result was then compared with how many people expected to be handed in.<\/p>\n

      The rate of wallets returned was almost twice as high as people predicted, and the study found that belief in the kindness of others was more closely tied to happiness than previously thought.<\/p>\n

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