World Happiness Report

Worldwide levels of happiness as measured by the World Happiness Report (2023).

The World Happiness Report is a publication that contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, ^[1] which the report also correlates with various (quality of) life factors. ^[2] As of March 2024, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world seven times in a row. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

From 2024, the report is a publication of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. ^[8] Until then, the report was a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative of the United Nations. ^[9] The report primarily uses data from the Gallup World Poll. Each annual report is available to the public to download on the World Happiness Report website. ^[2] The editors of the 2023 report are John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Lara Aknin, and Shun Wang.

History

In July 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 65/309 Happiness: Towards a Holistic Definition of Development ^[10] inviting member countries to measure the happiness of their people and to use the data to help guide public policy. On 2 April 2012, this was followed by the first UN High Level Meeting called Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, ^[11] which was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley of Bhutan, a nation that adopted gross national happiness instead of gross domestic product as their main development indicator. ^[12]

The first World Happiness Report was released on 1 April 2012, as a foundational text for the UN High Level Meeting: Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, ^[13] drawing international attention. ^[14] The first report outlined the state of world happiness, causes of happiness and misery, and policy implications highlighted by case studies. In 2013, the second World Happiness Report was issued, and in 2015 the third. Since 2016, it has been issued on an annual basis on 20 March, to coincide with the UN's International Day of Happiness. ^[15]

Methods and philosophy

The rankings of national happiness are based on a happiness measurement survey undertaken world-wide by the polling company Gallup, Inc. Nationally representative samples of respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale. ^[16] The report correlates the life evaluation results with various life factors. ^[2]

The life factor variables used in the reports are reflective of determinants that explain national-level differences in life evaluations across research literature. However, certain variables, such as unemployment or inequality, are not considered because comparable data is not yet available across all countries. The variables used illustrate important correlations rather than causal estimates. ^[16]

The use of subjective measurements of wellbeing is meant to be a bottom-up approach which emancipates respondents to evaluate their own wellbeing. ^[17] In this context, the value of the Cantril Ladder is the fact that a respondent can self-anchor themselves based on their perspective. ^[18]

In the reports, experts in fields including economics, psychology, survey analysis, and national statistics, describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations, and other topics. Each report is organized by chapters that delve deeper into issues relating to happiness, including mental illness, the objective benefits of happiness, the importance of ethics, policy implications, and links with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) approach to measuring subjective well-being and other international and national efforts.

WELLBYs

From 2021 the World Happiness Report has advocated for the use of WELLBYs (Well-Being-Adjusted Life-Years); it argues that QALYs only count the individual patient's health-related quality of life, and instead WELLBYs should be used. Policy-makers should aim to maximise the WELLBYs of all who are born, and also include the WELLBYs of future generations (subject to a small discount rate). ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Annual report topics

World Happiness Reports were issued in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 (an update), 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

In addition to ranking countries happiness and well-being levels, each report has contributing authors and most focus on a particular theme. The data used to rank countries in each report is drawn from the Gallup World Poll, ^[22] as well as other sources such as the World Values Survey, in some of the reports. The Gallup World Poll questionnaire ^[23] measures 14 areas within its core questions: (1) business & economic, (2) citizen engagement, (3) communications & technology, (4) diversity (social issues), (5) education & families, (6) emotions (well-being), (7) environment & energy, (8) food & shelter, (9) government and politics, (10) law & order (safety), (11) health, (12) religion & ethics, (13) transportation, and (14) work.

2023 World Happiness Report

Descriptions
The 2023 World Happiness Report was a triannual analysis of 2020–2022, heavily influenced by COVID-19 and other significant challenges. [24] For the sixth consecutive year, Finland was ranked on top, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands. In the top-10 rankings, Israel jumped five places, while Switzerland fell four places. Lithuania was the only new country in the top-20. [25]

2022 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2022 World Happiness Report included a section looking at possible genetic effects on individual happiness. [26] Finland is in the top position in the world happiness report in 2022. Followed by Denmark and Iceland in second and third place. Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand, were among the top 10 'happiest' countries in the world Happiness, Benevolence, and Trust During COVID-19 and Beyond. Among 146 countries ranked by the report, Afghanistan scores the lowest point of 2.523 and was ranked as the least 'happy' country in the world in 2022.

2021 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2021 World Happiness Report, released on March 20, 2021, ranks 156 countries based on an average of three years of surveys between 2017 and 2019. The 2020 report especially focuses on the environment – social, urban, and natural, and includes links between happiness and sustainable development. [27] Finland holds the rank of the happiest country in the world for the fourth consecutive year. [28] It is followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and Netherlands. Afghanistan received the lowest score, with South Sudan and Rwanda just above it. In addition to country rankings, this is the second year that the World Happiness Report ranks cities. The happiest city in the world is Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The report shows that the happiness ranking of cities is almost identical to that of the countries they are in.

2020 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2020 World Happiness Report, released on March 20, 2020, ranks 156 countries based on an average of three years of surveys between 2017 and 2019. The 2020 report especially focuses on the environment – social, urban, and natural, and includes links between happiness and sustainable development. [29] Finland holds the rank of the happiest country in the world for the third consecutive year. [30] It is followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. Afghanistan received the lowest score, with South Sudan and Zimbabwe just above it. [31] In addition to country rankings, this is the first year that the World Happiness Report ranks cities. The happiest city in the world is Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The report shows that the happiness ranking of cities is almost identical to that of the countries they are in. In 2020, the editorial team expanded and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve became a co-editor, joining John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, and the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre became a fourth research pillar for the report. Associate editors were Lara Aknin, Haifang Huang and Shun Wang, and Sharon Paculor was recognized as production editor. From 2020, Gallup became a full data partner.

2019 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2019 World Happiness Report focuses community. According to the 2019 Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world, [32] with Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Netherlands holding the next top positions. The second chapter of the report, 'Changing World Happiness', measures year-to-year changes in happiness across countries. For this, changes are reported from 2005-2008 to 2016-2018. Of the 132 countries with data for 2005-2008 and 2016-2018, 106 had significant changes: 64 were significant increases and 42 were significant decreases. Benin was the top gainer, while Venezuela showed the greatest decrease. The chapter also considers how happiness has been affected by changes in the quality of government. The third chapter considers happiness and voting behaviour, with data suggesting that happier people are more likely to vote, and to vote for incumbents. The fourth chapter is an examination of happiness and pro-social behaviour, finding that people are more likely to derive happiness from helping others when they feel free to choose whether or how to help, when they feel connected to the people they are helping, and when they can see how their help is making a difference. The final topic of the report, digital and information technologies and happiness, is covered in the remaining chapters. The editorial team for the 2019 report was expanded to include Lara Aknin as associate editor.

2018 World Happiness Report

Descriptions
The 2018 iteration was released on 20 March and focused on the relation between happiness and migration.

2017 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The fifth World Happiness Report emphasizes the importance of the social foundations of happiness, which are analysed by comparing the life experiences between the top and bottom ten countries in the year’s happiness rankings. Norway topped the global happiness rankings in this report, jumping from fourth place in 2016 to first in 2017. It was followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The second chapter of the report focuses on the global rankings and calculates that bringing the social foundations from the lowest levels up to world average levels in 2014-2016 would increase life evaluations by almost two points. This means that social foundations effects are together larger than those of GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy. The third chapter focuses on economic growth and wellbeing in China, and shows that unemployment and changes in the social safety nets explain both the post-1990 fall in happiness levels and the subsequent recovery since 2005. The fourth chapter discusses the reasons why countries in Africa are generally lagging behind others in life evaluations. The fifth chapter analyses key determinants of happiness, including income, mental health, and physical health. The sixth chapter considers the determinant of employment and work in particular, emphasising the importance of employment for happiness across the world. The final chapter uses happiness history over the past ten years, analysing the case of the United States through the lens of social foundations of happiness.

2016 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2016 World Happiness Report -Rome Addition was issued in two parts as an update. Part one had four chapters: (1) Setting the Stage, (2) The Distribution of World Happiness, (3) Promoting Secular Ethics, and (4) Happiness and Sustainable Development: Concepts and Evidence. Part two has six chapters: (1) Inside the Life Satisfaction Blackbox, (2) Human Flourishing, the Common Good, and Catholic Social Teaching, (3) The Challenges of Public Happiness: An Historical-Methodological Reconstruction, (4) The Geography of Parenthood and Well-Being: Do Children Make Us Happy, Where and Why?, and (5) Multidimensional Well-Being in Contemporary Europe: An Analysis of the Use of a Self-Organizing Map Applied to Share Data. Chapter 1, Setting the Stage is written by John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, and Jeffrey Sachs. This chapter briefly surveys the happiness movement ("Increasingly, happiness is considered to be the proper measure of social progress and the goal of public policy.") gives an overview of the 2016 reports and synopsis of both parts of the 2016 Update Rome Addition. Chapter 2, The Distribution of World Happiness is written by John F. Helliwell, Hailing Huang, and Shun Wang. This chapter reports happiness levels of countries and proposes the use of inequalities of happiness among individuals as a better measure for inequality than income inequality, and that all people in a population fare better in terms of happiness when there is less inequality in happiness in their region. It includes data from the World Health Organization and World Development Indicators, as well as Gallup World Poll. It debunks the notion that people rapidly adapt to changes in life circumstances and quickly return to an initial life satisfaction baseline, finding instead that changes in life circumstances such as government policies, major life events (unemployment, major disability) and immigration change people's baseline life satisfaction levels. This chapter also addresses the measure for affect (feelings), finding that positive affect (happiness, laughter, enjoyment) has much "large and highly significant impact" on life satisfaction than negative affect (worry, sadness, anger). The chapter also examines differences in happiness levels explained by the factors of (1) social support, (2) income, (3) healthy life, (4) trust in government and business, (5) perceived freedom to make life decisions and (6) generosity. Chapter 3, Promoting Secular Ethics is written by Richard Layard, This chapter argues for a revival of an ethical life and world, harkening to times when religious organizations were a dominant force. It calls on secular non-profit organizations to promote "ethical living in a way that provides inspiration, uplift, joy and mutual respect", and gives examples of implementation by a non-profit founded by Richard Layard, [33] the chapter author, Action for Happiness, which offers online information from positive psychology and Buddhist teachings. Chapter 4, Happiness and Sustainable Development: Concepts and Evidence is written by Jeffrey Sachs. This chapter identifies ways that sustainable development indicators (economic, social and environmental factors) can be used to explain variations in happiness. It concludes with a report about an appeal to include subjective well-being indicators into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Part Two 2016 Special Rome Edition was edited by Jeffrey Sacks, Leonardo Becchetti and Anthony Arnett. Chapter 1, Inside the Life Satisfaction Blackbox is written by Leonardo Becchetti, Luisa Carrado, [34] and Paolo Sama. This chapter proposes using quality of life measurements (a broader range of variables that life evaluation) in lieu of or in addition to overall life evaluations in future World Happiness Reports. Chapter 2, Human Flourishing, the Common Good, and Catholic Social Teaching is written by Anthony Annett. This chapter contains explanations for three theories: (1) It is human nature to broadly define happiness and understand the connection between happiness and the common good, (2) that the current understanding of individuality is stripped of ties to the common good, and (3) that there is a need to restore the common good as central value for society. The chapter also proposes Catholic school teachings as a model for restoring the common good as a dominant value. Chapter 3, The Challenges of Public Happiness: An Historical-Methodological Reconstruction is written by Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zemagni. This chapter contemplates Aristotelian concepts of happiness and virtue as they pertain to and support the findings in the World Happiness Reports regarding the impact of social support, trust in government, and equality of happiness. Chapter 4, The Geography of Parenthood and Well-Being. Do Children Make Us Happy, Where and Why? is written by Luca Stanca. [35] This chapter examines other research findings that children do not add happiness to parents. Using data from the World Values Survey, it finds that, with the exception of widowed parents, having children has a negative effect on life satisfaction for parents in 2/3 of the 105 countries studied, with parents in richer countries suffering more. Once parents are old, life satisfaction increases. The chapter concludes that "existing evidence is not conclusive" and a statement that the causes for the low life satisfaction levels may be that for richer countries, having children is valued less, and in poorer countries, people suffer in financial and time costs when they have children. Chapter 5, Multidimensional Well-Being in Contemporary Europe: Analysis of the Use of Self-Organizing Map Allied to SHARE Data is written by Mario Lucchini, Luca Crivelli [36] and Sara della Bella. This chapter contains a study of well-being data from older European adults. It finds that this chapter's study results were consistent with the World Happiness Report 2016 update: positive affect (feelings) have a stronger impact on a person's satisfaction with life than do negative affect (feelings).

2015 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2015 World Happiness Report has eight chapters: (1) Setting the Stage, (2) The Geography of World Happiness, (3) How Does Subjective Well-being Vary Around the World by Gender and Age?, (4) How to Make Policy When Happiness is the Goal, (5) Neuroscience of Happiness, (6) Healthy Young Minds Transforming the Mental Health of Children, (7) Human Values, Civil Economy, and Subjective Well-being, and (8) Investing in Social Capital. Chapter 1, Setting the Stage is written by John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs. This chapter celebrates the success of the happiness movement ("Happiness is increasingly considered a proper means of social progress and public policy."), citing the OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being, a referendum in the EU requiring member nations to measure happiness, and the success of the World Happiness reports (with readership at about 1.5 million), and the adoption of happiness by the government of the United Arab Emirates, and other areas. It sets an aspiration of the inclusion of subjective well-being into the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (not fulfilled), and outlines the 2015 report. It also address the use of the term Happiness, identifying the cons (narrowness of the term, breath of the term, flakiness), and defining the use of the term for the reasons that the 2011 UN General Assembly Resolution 65/309 Happiness Towards A Holistic Approach to Development [37] and April 2012 UN High Level Meeting: Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, [38] Bhutan's Gross National Happiness [39] philosophy, the term's "convening and attention attracting power", and the asset in a "double usage of happiness" as an emotional report and life evaluation. Chapter 2, The Geography of Happiness is written by John F. Helliwell, Hailing Huang and Shun Wang. This chapter reports the happiness of nations measured by life evaluations. It includes color coded maps and an analysis of six factors the account for the differences: (1) social support in terms of someone to count on in times of need, (2) GDP per capita (income), (3) life expectancy (in terms of healthy years), (4) sense of corruption in government and business (trust), (5) perceived freedom to make life decisions, and (6) generosity. The first three factors were found to have the biggest impact on a population's happiness. Crisis (natural disasters and economic crisis) the quality of governance, and social support were found to be the key drivers for changes in national happiness levels, with the happiness of nations undergoing a crisis in which people have a strong sense of social support falling less than nations where people do not have a strong sense of social support. Chapter 3, How Does Subjective Well-being Vary Around the Globe by Gender and Age? is written by Nicole Fortin, John F. Helliwell and Shun Wang. This chapter uses data for 12 experiences: happiness (the emotion), smiling or laughing, enjoyment, feeling safe at night, feeling well rested, and feeling interested, as well as anger, worry, sadness, depression, stress and pain to examine differences by gender and age. Findings reported include that there is not a lot of difference in life evaluations between men and women across nations or within ages in a nation (women have slightly higher life evaluations than men: 0.09 on a ten-point scale). It reports that overall happiness falls into a U shape with age on the x axis and happiness on the y, with the low point being middle age (45-50) for most nations (in some happiness does not go up much in later life, so the shape is more of a downhill slide), and that the U shape holds for feeling well rested in all regions. It finds that men generally feel safer at night than women but, when comparing countries, people in Latin America have the lowest sense of safety at night, while people in East Asia and Western Europe have the highest sense of safety at night. It also finds that as women age their sense of happiness declines and stress increases but worry decreases, as all people age their laughter, enjoyment and finding something of interest also declines, that anger is felt everywhere almost equally by men and women, stress peaks in the Middle Ages, and women experience depression more than men. It finds that where older people are happier, there is a sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and generosity (and income does not factor in as heavily as these three factors). Chapter 4, How to Make Policy When Happiness is the Goal is written by Richard Layard and Gus O'Donnell. This chapter advocates for a "new form of cost-benefit analysis" for government expenditures in which a "critical level of extra happiness" yielded by a project is established. It contemplates the prioritization of increasing happiness of the happy vs. reducing misery of the miserable, as well as the issues of discount rate (weight) for the happiness of future generations. It includes a technical annex with equations for calculating the maximization for happiness in public expenditure, tax policy, regulations, the distribution of happiness and a discount rate. Chapter 5, Neuroscience of Happiness is written by Richard J. Dawson and Brianna S. Schuyler. This chapter reports on research in brain science and happiness, identifying four aspects that account for happiness: (1) sustained positive emotion, (2) recovery of negative emotion (resilience), (3) empathy, altruism and pro-social behavior, and (4) mindfulness (mind-wandering/affective sickness). It concludes that the brain's elasticity indicates that one can change one's sense of happiness and life satisfaction (separate but overlapping positive consequences) levels by experiencing and practicing mindfulness, kindness, and generosity; and calls for more research on these topics. Chapter 6, Healthy Young Minds: Transforming the Mental Health of Children is written by Richard Layard and Ann Hagell. [40] This chapter identifies emotional development as of primary importance, (compared to academic and behavioral factors) in a child's development and determination of whether a child will be a happy and well-functioning adult. It then focuses on the issue of mental illness in children, citing the statistic that while worldwide 10% of the world's children (approximately 200 million) suffer from diagnosable mental health problems, even in the richest nations, only one quarter of these children of them are in treatment. It identifies the action steps to treating children with mental health problems: local community-lead child well-being programs, training health care professions to identify mental health problems in children, parity of esteem for mental and physical problems and treatment, access to evidence-based mental health treatment for families and children, promotion of well-being in schools with well-being codes that inform the organizational behavior of schools, training teachers to identify mental health in children, teachings of life skills, measuring of children's well-being by schools, development of free apps available internationally to treat mental illness in teens, and inclusion of mental health with the goal of physical health in the Sustainable Development goals. The chapter lists the benefits of treating children's mental health: improved educational performance, reduction in youth crimes, improved earnings and employment in adulthood, and better parenting of the next generation. Chapter 7, Human Values, Civil Economy and Subjective Well-being is written by Leonardo Bechhetti, [41] Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni. This chapter begins with a critique of the field of economics ("Economics today looks like physics before the discovery of electrons"), identifying reductionism in which humans are conceived of as 100% self-interested individuals (economic reductionism), profit maximization is prioritized over all other interests (corporate reductionism), and societal values are narrowly identified with GDP and ignore environmental, cultural, spiritual and relational aspects (value reductionism). The chapter them focuses on a theoretical approach termed "Civil Economy paradigm", and research about it demonstrating that going beyond reductionism leads to greater socialization for people and communities, and a rise in priority of the values of reciprocity, friendship, trustworthiness, and benevolence. It makes the argument that positive social relationships (trust, benevolence, shared social identities) yield happiness and positive economic outcomes. It ends with recommendations for move from the dominant model of elite-competitive democracy to a participatory/deliberative model of democracy with bottom-up political and economic participation and incentives for non-selfish actions (altruistic people) and corporations with wider goals than pure profit (ethical and environmentally responsible corporations). Chapter 8, Investing in Social Capital is written by Jeffrey Sachs. This chapter focuses on "pro-sociality" ("individuals making decisions for the common good that may conflict with short-run egoistic incentives"). It identifies pro-social behaviors: honesty, benevolence, cooperation and trustworthiness. It recommends investment in social capital through education, moral instruction, professional codes of conduct, public censure and condemnation of violators of public trust, and public policies to narrow income inequalities for countries where there is generalized distrust of government and business, pervasive corruption and lawless behavior (such as tax evasion).

2013 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2013 World Happiness Report has eight chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) World Happiness: Trends, Explanations and Distribution, (3) Mental Illness and Unhappiness, (4) The Objective Benefits of Subjective Well-being, (5) Restoring Virtue Ethics in the Quest for Happiness, (6) Using Well-being as a Guide to Policy, (7) The OECD Approach to Measuring Subjective Well-being, and (8) From Capabilities to Contentment: Testing the Links between Human Development and Life Satisfaction. Chapter 1, Introduction is written by John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs. It synopsizes the chapters and gives a discussion of the term happiness. Chapter 2, World Happiness: Trends, Explanations and Distributions is written by John F. Helliwell and Shun Wang. It provides ratings among countries and regions for satisfaction with life using the Cantril Ladder, positive and negative affect (emotions), and log of GDP per capita, years of healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, perceptions of corruption, prevalence of generosity, and freedom to make life choices. Chapter 3, Mental Illness and Unhappiness is written by Richard Layard, Dan Chisholm, Vikram Patel, and Shekhar Saxel. It identifies the far ranging prevalence of mental illness around the world (10% of the world's population at one time) and provides the evidence showing that "mental illness is a highly influential - and...the single biggest - determinant of misery". It concludes with examples of interventions implemented by countries around the world. Chapter 4, The Objective Benefits of Subjective Well-being is written by Jan-Emmanuel de Neve, Ed Diener, Louis Tay and Cody Xuereb. It provides an explanation of the benefits of subjective well-being (happiness) on health & longevity, income, productivity & organizational behavior, and individual & social behavior. It touches on the role of happiness in human evolution through rewarding behaviors that increase evolutionary success and beneficial to survival. Chapter 5, Restoring Virtue Ethics in the Quest for Happiness is written by Jeffrey Sachs. It argues that "a renewed focus on the role of ethics, and in particular of virtuous behavior, in happiness could lead us to new and effective strategies for raising individual, national and global well-being", looking to the eightfold noble path (the teachings of the dharma handed down in the Buddhist tradition that encompass wise view/understanding, wise intention, wise speech, wise action, wise livelihood, and effort, concentration and mindfulness), Aristotelian philosophy (people are social animals, "with individual happiness secured only within a political community...[which] should organize its institutions to promote virtuous behavior), and Christian doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas ("placing happiness in the context of servicing God's will"). It gives an explanation of the evolution of the field of economics up t the "failures of hyper-commercialism" and suggests an antidote based on four global ethical values: (1) non-violence and respect for life, (2) justice and solidarity, (3) honesty and tolerance, and (4) mutual esteem and partnership. Chapter 6, Using Well-being as Guide to Public Policy is written by Gus O'Donnell. This chapter gives a status report on the issues governments grapple with in adopting well-being and happiness measures and goals for policy, from understanding the data or establishing whether a specific policy improves well-being, to figuring out how to "incorporate well-being into standard policy making". It provides examples of efforts to measure happiness and well-being from Bhutan, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and cities and communities in the US, Canada, Australia and Tasmania. It identifies the key policy areas of health, transport and education for policy makers to focus on and includes discussions about interpersonal comparability (concentrating on "getting people out of misery" instead of making happy people happier), discount rate (do we invest more in happiness for people today or in the future?) and putting a monetary value on happiness for policy trade off decisions (e.g. If "a 10% reduction in noise increase SWB by one unit, then we can infer that a 10% reduction is "worth" $1,000" when $1,000 would increase a person's SWB by one unit). Chapter 7, The OECD Approach to Measuring Subjective Well-being is written by Martine Durand and Conal Smith. This chapter was written the same year the OECD issued its Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being, [42] and is a synopsis of such. It includes a definition for subjective well-being: life evaluation (a person's reflection on their life and life circumstances), affect (positive and negative emotions) and eudaimonia; core measures, a discussion on data collection processes, survey and sample design, other aspects of using subjective well-being metrics, and ideas on how policy-makers can use subjective well-being data. It surveys the status of wealthy countries subjective well-being data collection process, and identifies future directions of experimentation and better income measures, citing the Easterlin Paradox as the basis for this call. Chapter 8, From Capabilities to Contentment: Testing the Links between Human Development and Life Satisfaction is written by Jon Hall. [43] This chapter explains the components of human development using objective metrics: (1) education, health and command over income and nutrition resources, (2) participation and freedom, (3) human security, (4) equity, and (5) sustainability; key findings of the Human Development Index (HDI) ("weak relationship between economic growth and changes in health and education" as well as life expectancy), and examines the relationship between the HDI and happiness, finding that (1) components of the HDI "correlate strongly with better life evaluations", and (2) there is a strong relationship between life evaluation and the "non-income HDI". It contemplates measurement of conditions of life beyond the HDI that are important to well-being: (1) better working conditions, (2) security against crime and physical violence, (3) participation in economic and political activities, (4) freedom and (5) inequality. The concludes with the statements that the HDI and SWB have similar approaches and importantly connected, with the two disciplines offering alternative and complementary views of development.

2012 World Happiness Report

Descriptions

The 2012 World Happiness Report was issued at the UN High Level Meeting Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm [44] by editors John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs. Part one has an introduction (chapter 1) and three chapters: (2) the State of World Happiness, (3) Causes of Happiness and Misery, Some Policy Implications. Part two has three chapters, each a case study, of Bhutan, the United Kingdom Office of National Statistics, and the OECD. Chapter 1, The Introduction is by Jeffrey Sachs and references Buddha and Aristotle, identifies today's era as the anthropocene, and identifies the reasons GDP is not a sufficient measure to guide governments and society. Chapter 2, TheState of World Happiness, is written by John F. Helliwell and Shun Wang, [45] and contains a discussion of subjective well-being measures that ranges from the validity of subjective well-being measures to the seriousness of happiness, happiness set points and cultural comparisons, and it includes data from the Gallup World Poll, European Social Survey, and the World Values Survey. [46] Chapter 3, The Causes of Happiness and Misery is written by Richard Layard, Andrew Clark, [47] and Claudia Senik, [48] and contemplates research on the impact on happiness of the external factors of income, work, community and governance, values and religion, as well as the internal factors of mental health, physical health, family experience, education, and gender and age. Chapter 4, Some Policy Implications, written by John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs, calls for a greater understanding on how governments can measure happiness, the determinants of happiness, and use of happiness data and findings about determinants for policy purposes. It also highlights the role of GDP ("GDP is important but not all that is important") as a guide to policy makers, the importance that policy makers should place on providing opportunities for employment; the role of happiness in policy making ("Making happiness an objective of governments would not therefore lead to the "servile society", and indeed quite the contrary...Happiness comes from an opportunity to mold one's own future, and thus depends on a robust level of freedom."); the role of values and religion ("In well-functioning societies there is widespread support for the universal value that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us. We need to cultivate social norms so that the rich and powerful are never given a feeling of impunity vis-à-vis the rest of society."); calls for wider access to psychological therapies in a section on mental health citing the fact that one third of all families are affected by mental illness; identifies improvements in physical health as "probably the single most important factor that has improved human happiness" and calls out the rich-poor gap in health care between rich and poor countries; calls on workplace and governmental policies that encourage work–life balance and reduce stress, including family support and child care; and states that "Universal access to education is widely judged to be a basic human right..." The chapter concludes with a philosophical discussion. Chapter 5, Case Study: Bhutan Gross National Happiness and the GNH Index is written by Karma Ura, [49] Sabine Alkire, [50] and Tsoki Zangmo. It gives a short history of the development of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) concept in Bhutan, and an explanation of the GNH index, data collection and data analysis process, including the rating methodology to determine if an individual experiences happiness sufficiency levels, as well as the policy and lifestyle implications Chapter 6, Case Study: ONS Measuring Subjective Well-being: The UK Office of National Statistics Experience is written by Stephen Hicks. It covers the basis for the creation of the Measuring National Well-being Programme [51] in the UK's Office of National Statistics [52] (ONS), and the development of their methodology for measuring well-being. Chapter 5, Case Study OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being is an explanation about the process and rationale the OECD was undertaking to develop its Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being, [53] which it issued in 2013.

International rankings

Data is collected from people in over 150 countries. Each variable measured reveals a populated-weighted average score on a scale running from 0 to 10 that is tracked over time and compared against other countries. These variables currently include:

• real GDP per capita
• social support
• healthy life expectancy
• freedom to make life choices
• generosity
• perceptions of corruption

Each country is also compared against a hypothetical nation called Dystopia. Dystopia represents the lowest national averages for each key variable and is, along with residual error, used as a regression benchmark. The six metrics are used to explain the estimated extent to which each of these factors contribute to increasing life satisfaction when compared to the hypothetical nation of Dystopia, but they themselves do not have an effect on the total score reported for each country. ^[54]

2024 report

The 2024 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2021–2023. ^[55]

Table

Overall rank Country or region Life evaluation 1   Finland 7.741 2   Denmark 7.583 3   Iceland 7.525 4   Sweden 7.344 5   Israel 7.341 6   Netherlands 7.319 7   Norway 7.302 8   Luxembourg 7.122 9    Switzerland 7.060 10   Australia 7.057 11   New Zealand 7.029 12   Costa Rica 6.955 13   Kuwait 6.951 14   Austria 6.905 15   Canada 6.900 16   Belgium 6.894 17   Ireland 6.838 18   Czechia 6.822 19   Lithuania 6.818 20   United Kingdom 6.749 21   Slovenia 6.743 22   United Arab Emirates 6.733 23   United States 6.725 24   Germany 6.719 25   Mexico 6.678 26   Uruguay 6.611 27   France 6.609 28   Saudi Arabia 6.594 29   Kosovo 6.561 30   Singapore 6.523 31   Taiwan 6.503 32   Romania 6.491 33   El Salvador 6.469 34   Estonia 6.448 35   Poland 6.442 36   Spain 6.421 37   Serbia 6.411 38   Chile 6.360 39   Panama 6.358 40   Malta 6.346 41   Italy 6.324 42   Guatemala 6.287 43   Nicaragua 6.284 44   Brazil 6.272 45   Slovakia 6.257 46   Latvia 6.234 47   Uzbekistan 6.195 48   Argentina 6.188 49   Kazakhstan 6.188 50   Cyprus 6.068 51   Japan 6.060 52   South Korea 6.058 53   Philippines 6.048 54   Vietnam 6.043 55   Portugal 6.030 56   Hungary 6.017 57   Paraguay 5.977 58   Thailand 5.976 59   Malaysia 5.975 60   China 5.973 61   Honduras 5.968 62   Bahrain 5.959 63   Croatia 5.942 64   Greece 5.934 65   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.877 66   Libya 5.866 67   Jamaica 5.842 68   Peru 5.841 69   Dominican Republic 5.823 70   Mauritius 5.816 71   Moldova 5.816 72   Russia 5.785 73   Bolivia 5.784 74   Ecuador 5.725 75   Kyrgyzstan 5.714 76   Montenegro 5.707 77   Mongolia 5.696 78   Colombia 5.695 79   Venezuela 5.607 80   Indonesia 5.568 81   Bulgaria 5.463 82   Armenia 5.455 83   South Africa 5.422 84   North Macedonia 5.369 85   Algeria 5.364 86   Hong Kong 5.316 87   Albania 5.304 88   Tajikistan 5.281 89   Congo (Brazzaville) 5.221 90   Mozambique 5.216 91   Georgia 5.185 92   Iraq 5.166 93     Nepal 5.158 94   Laos 5.139 95   Gabon 5.106 96   Ivory Coast 5.080 97   Guinea 5.023 98   Turkey 4.975 99   Senegal 4.969 100   Iran 4.923 101   Azerbaijan 4.893 102   Nigeria 4.881 103   State of Palestine 4.879 104   Cameroon 4.874 105   Ukraine 4.873 106   Namibia 4.832 107   Morocco 4.795 108   Pakistan 4.657 109   Niger 4.556 110   Burkina Faso 4.548 111   Mauritania 4.505 112   Gambia 4.485 113   Chad 4.471 114   Kenya 4.470 115   Tunisia 4.422 116   Benin 4.377 117   Uganda 4.372 118   Myanmar 4.354 119   Cambodia 4.341 120   Ghana 4.289 121   Liberia 4.269 122   Mali 4.232 123   Madagascar 4.228 124   Togo 4.214 125   Jordan 4.186 126   India 4.054 127   Egypt 3.977 128   Sri Lanka 3.898 129   Bangladesh 3.886 130   Ethiopia 3.861 131   Tanzania 3.781 132   Comoros 3.566 133   Yemen 3.561 134   Zambia 3.502 135   Eswatini 3.502 136   Malawi 3.421 137   Botswana 3.383 138   Zimbabwe 3.341 139   Congo (Kinshasa) 3.295 140   Sierra Leone 3.245 141   Lesotho 3.186 142   Lebanon 2.707 143   Afghanistan 1.721

2023 report

The 2023 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2020–2022.

Table
Overall rank Country or region 1   Finland 2   Denmark 3   Iceland 4   Israel 5   Netherlands 6   Sweden 7   Norway 8    Switzerland 9   Luxembourg 10   New Zealand 11   Austria 12   Australia 13   Canada 14   Ireland 15   United States 16   Germany 17   Belgium 18   Czech Republic 19   United Kingdom 20   Lithuania 21   France 22   Slovenia 23   Costa Rica 24   Romania 25   Singapore* 26   United Arab Emirates 27   Taiwan 28   Uruguay 29   Slovakia* 30   Saudi Arabia 31   Estonia 32   Spain 33   Italy 34   Kosovo 35   Chile 36   Mexico 37   Malta 38   Panama 39   Poland 40   Nicaragua 41   Latvia 42   Bahrain* 43   Guatemala 44   Kazakhstan 45   Serbia* 46   Cyprus 47   Japan 48   Croatia 49   Brazil 50   El Salvador 51   Hungary 52   Argentina 53   Honduras 54   Uzbekistan 55   Malaysia* 56   Portugal 57   South Korea 58   Greece 59   Mauritius 60   Thailand 61   Mongolia 62   Kyrgyzstan 63   Moldova 64   China* 65   Vietnam 66   Paraguay 67   Montenegro* 68   Jamaica 69   Bolivia 70   Russia 71   Bosnia and Herzegovina* 72   Colombia 73   Dominican Republic 74   Ecuador 75   Peru 76   Philippines* 77   Bulgaria 78     Nepal 79   Armenia 80   Tajikistan* 81   Algeria* 82   Hong Kong 83   Albania 84   Indonesia 85   South Africa* 86   Congo, Republic of 87   North Macedonia 88   Venezuela 89   Laos* 90   Georgia 91   Guinea 92   Ukraine 93   Ivory Coast 94   Gabon 95   Nigeria* 96   Cameroon 97   Mozambique 98   Iraq* 99   Palestine 100   Morocco 101   Iran 102   Senegal 103   Mauritania 104   Burkina Faso* 105   Namibia 106   Turkey* 107   Ghana 108   Pakistan 109   Niger 110   Tunisia 111   Kenya 112   Sri Lanka* 113   Uganda* 114   Chad 115   Cambodia 116   Benin 117   Myanmar* 118   Bangladesh 119   Gambia 120   Mali 121   Egypt 122   Togo 123   Jordan 124   Ethiopia 125   Liberia 126   India 127   Madagascar 128   Zambia* 129   Tanzania 130   Comoros 131   Malawi 132   Botswana 133   Congo, Democratic Republic of 134   Zimbabwe 135   Sierra Leone 136   Lebanon 137   Afghanistan
* indicates the country does not have survey information in 2022. Their averages are based on the 2020 and 2021 surveys.

2022 report

Table
Overall rank Country or region 1   Finland 2   Denmark 3   Iceland 4    Switzerland 5   Netherlands 6   Luxembourg 7   Sweden 8   Norway 9   Israel 10   New Zealand 11   Austria 12   Australia 13   Ireland 14   Germany 15   Canada 16   United States 17   United Kingdom 18   Czech Republic 19   Belgium 20   France

2020 report

The 2020 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2017–2019. Finland is the 'happiest' country in the world, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. The data comes from the Gallup World Poll, based entirely on survey scores and answers to the main life evaluation question asked in the poll.

Table

Overall rank Country or region Score GDP per capita Social support Healthy life expectancy Freedom to make life choices Generosity Perceptions of corruption 1   Finland 7.809 1.285 1.500 0.961 0.662 0.160 0.478 2   Denmark 7.646 1.327 1.503 0.979 0.665 0.243 0.495 3    Switzerland 7.560 1.391 1.472 1.041 0.629 0.269 0.408 4   Iceland 7.504 1.327 1.548 1.001 0.662 0.362 0.145 5   Norway 7.488 1.424 1.495 1.008 0.670 0.288 0.434 6   Netherlands 7.449 1.339 1.464 0.976 0.614 0.336 0.369 7   Sweden 7.353 1.322 1.433 0.986 0.650 0.273 0.442 8   New Zealand 7.300 1.242 1.487 1.008 0.647 0.326 0.461 9   Austria 7.294 1.317 1.437 1.001 0.603 0.256 0.281 10   Luxembourg 7.238 1.537 1.388 0.986 0.610 0.196 0.367 11   Canada 7.232 1.302 1.435 1.023 0.644 0.282 0.352 12   Australia 7.223 1.310 1.477 1.023 0.622 0.325 0.336 13   United Kingdom 7.165 1.273 1.458 0.976 0.525 0.373 0.323 14   Israel 7.129 1.216 1.403 1.008 0.421 0.267 0.100 15   Costa Rica 7.121 0.981 1.375 0.940 0.645 0.131 0.096 16   Ireland 7.094 1.447 1.471 0.976 0.588 0.295 0.373 17   Germany 7.076 1.314 1.369 0.972 0.564 0.252 0.309 18   United States 6.940 1.374 1.405 0.832 0.535 0.298 0.152 19   Czech Republic 6.911 1.212 1.405 0.895 0.506 0.046 0.050 20   Belgium 6.864 1.296 1.399 0.965 0.500 0.147 0.209 21   United Arab Emirates 6.791 1.431 1.251 0.788 0.653 0.281 0.220 22   Malta 6.773 1.253 1.443 0.972 0.633 0.341 0.179 23   France 6.664 1.268 1.459 1.030 0.514 0.113 0.227 24   Mexico 6.465 1.024 1.226 0.832 0.554 0.083 0.083 25   Taiwan 6.455 1.327 1.358 0.878 0.449 0.151 0.132 26   Uruguay 6.440 1.071 1.425 0.857 0.594 0.132 0.193 27   Saudi Arabia 6.406 1.334 1.310 0.760 0.548 0.087 0.163 28   Spain 6.401 1.231 1.421 1.051 0.426 0.165 0.110 29   Guatemala 6.399 0.754 1.174 0.706 0.613 0.171 0.098 30   Italy 6.387 1.236 1.347 1.023 0.321 0.170 0.040 31   Singapore 6.377 1.520 1.395 1.138 0.635 0.219 0.533 32   Brazil 6.376 0.953 1.363 0.766 0.483 0.132 0.107 33   Slovenia 6.363 1.209 1.465 0.933 0.647 0.146 0.077 34   El Salvador 6.348 0.749 1.149 0.753 0.524 0.119 0.117 35   Kosovo 6.325 0.840 1.184 0.673 0.557 0.325 0.009 36   Panama 6.305 1.098 1.376 0.879 0.580 0.097 0.054 37   Slovakia 6.281 1.195 1.424 0.853 0.424 0.117 0.011 38   Uzbekistan 6.258 0.697 1.434 0.717 0.693 0.363 0.280 39   Chile 6.228 1.097 1.323 0.889 0.417 0.156 0.063 40   Bahrain 6.227 1.297 1.315 0.839 0.610 0.287 0.127 41   Lithuania 6.215 1.194 1.433 0.795 0.420 0.054 0.081 42   Trinidad and Tobago 6.192 1.168 1.407 0.659 0.553 0.199 0.015 43   Poland 6.186 1.169 1.310 0.868 0.558 0.063 0.161 44   Colombia 6.163 0.932 1.334 0.810 0.527 0.092 0.046 45   Cyprus 6.159 1.213 1.149 1.026 0.459 0.228 0.051 46   Nicaragua 6.137 0.620 1.271 0.803 0.560 0.213 0.174 47   Romania 6.124 1.120 1.194 0.792 0.535 0.068 0.001 48   Kuwait 6.102 1.425 1.245 0.776 0.570 0.133 0.113 49   Mauritius 6.101 1.074 1.396 0.763 0.591 0.187 0.084 50   Kazakhstan 6.058 1.123 1.453 0.699 0.497 0.154 0.110 51   Estonia 6.022 1.192 1.453 0.843 0.577 0.125 0.202 52   Philippines 6.006 0.775 1.245 0.602 0.622 0.129 0.130 53   Hungary 6.000 1.164 1.423 0.807 0.386 0.070 0.028 54   Thailand 5.999 1.007 1.348 0.794 0.609 0.377 0.032 55   Argentina 5.975 1.028 1.373 0.850 0.521 0.070 0.060 56   Honduras 5.953 0.599 1.187 0.792 0.568 0.257 0.087 57   Latvia 5.950 1.141 1.414 0.778 0.329 0.075 0.090 58   Ecuador 5.925 0.853 1.221 0.839 0.555 0.115 0.087 59   Portugal 5.911 1.169 1.340 0.979 0.590 0.053 0.028 60   Jamaica 5.890 0.779 1.408 0.788 0.553 0.116 0.030 61   South Korea 5.872 1.245 1.134 1.023 0.259 0.170 0.095 62   Japan 5.871 1.267 1.332 1.073 0.495 0.036 0.181 63   Peru 5.797 0.919 1.208 0.824 0.513 0.092 0.027 64   Serbia 5.778 0.988 1.327 0.828 0.395 0.150 0.059 65   Bolivia 5.747 0.731 1.142 0.662 0.574 0.138 0.073 66   Pakistan 5.693 0.617 0.873 0.470 0.405 0.229 0.123 67   Paraguay 5.692 0.898 1.368 0.736 0.587 0.204 0.065 68   Dominican Republic 5.689 0.983 1.329 0.742 0.563 0.112 0.116 69   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.674 0.918 1.204 0.814 0.305 0.264 0.001 70   Moldova 5.608 0.708 1.237 0.713 0.390 0.174 0.014 71   Tajikistan 5.556 0.475 1.218 0.681 0.521 0.182 0.222 72   Montenegro 5.546 1.010 1.266 0.839 0.303 0.149 0.098 73   Russia 5.546 1.127 1.379 0.680 0.399 0.099 0.046 74   Kyrgyzstan 5.542 0.513 1.341 0.681 0.615 0.301 0.030 75   Belarus 5.540 1.019 1.387 0.753 0.291 0.090 0.194 76   North Cyprus 5.536 1.213 1.183 1.026 0.478 0.199 0.200 77   Greece 5.515 1.128 1.169 0.979 0.174 0.000 0.049 78   Hong Kong 5.510 1.377 1.244 1.137 0.459 0.288 0.332 79   Croatia 5.505 1.109 1.311 0.901 0.381 0.114 0.012 80   Libya 5.489 1.022 1.196 0.616 0.451 0.143 0.172 81   Mongolia 5.456 0.905 1.459 0.616 0.356 0.264 0.047 82   Malaysia 5.384 1.168 1.174 0.789 0.597 0.275 0.062 83   Vietnam 5.353 0.718 1.253 0.819 0.651 0.136 0.090 84   Indonesia 5.286 0.892 1.155 0.610 0.568 0.543 0.038 85   Ivory Coast 5.233 0.537 0.800 0.155 0.397 0.170 0.093 86   Benin 5.216 0.366 0.352 0.328 0.406 0.197 0.126 87   Maldives 5.198 0.938 1.402 0.914 0.548 0.224 0.072 88   Congo (Brazzaville) 5.194 0.634 0.758 0.458 0.387 0.117 0.119 89   Azerbaijan 5.165 0.990 1.181 0.731 0.468 0.040 0.247 90   North Macedonia 5.160 0.935 1.183 0.803 0.410 0.186 0.025 91   Ghana 5.148 0.576 0.966 0.432 0.477 0.261 0.057 92     Nepal 5.137 0.444 1.101 0.669 0.481 0.301 0.128 93   Turkey 5.132 1.127 1.197 0.781 0.254 0.086 0.121 94   China 5.124 0.991 1.132 0.867 0.602 0.079 0.117 95   Turkmenistan 5.119 1.009 1.510 0.612 0.515 0.323 0.034 96   Bulgaria 5.102 1.047 1.461 0.778 0.418 0.104 0.000 97   Morocco 5.095 0.759 0.645 0.745 0.450 0.040 0.077 98   Cameroon 5.085 0.504 0.900 0.270 0.439 0.198 0.054 99   Venezuela 5.053 0.770 1.349 0.767 0.272 0.087 0.064 100   Algeria 5.005 0.944 1.143 0.745 0.084 0.119 0.129 101   Senegal 4.981 0.504 0.955 0.518 0.352 0.164 0.082 102   Guinea 4.949 0.390 0.751 0.334 0.372 0.249 0.112 103   Niger 4.910 0.108 0.704 0.299 0.435 0.208 0.138 104   Laos 4.889 0.715 0.987 0.486 0.612 0.273 0.194 105   Albania 4.883 0.907 0.830 0.846 0.462 0.171 0.025 106   Cambodia 4.848 0.545 1.071 0.588 0.675 0.233 0.073 107   Bangladesh 4.833 0.556 0.869 0.695 0.604 0.177 0.177 108   Gabon 4.829 0.988 1.106 0.523 0.369 0.052 0.056 109   South Africa 4.814 0.902 1.259 0.407 0.435 0.126 0.060 110   Iraq 4.785 0.982 1.011 0.529 0.284 0.153 0.073 111   Lebanon 4.772 0.889 1.192 0.789 0.186 0.159 0.022 112   Burkina Faso 4.769 0.302 0.929 0.313 0.322 0.186 0.126 113   Gambia 4.751 0.257 0.883 0.353 0.403 0.426 0.158 114   Mali 4.729 0.352 0.973 0.235 0.378 0.170 0.062 115   Nigeria 4.724 0.646 0.987 0.168 0.435 0.221 0.048 116   Armenia 4.677 0.808 1.035 0.776 0.378 0.107 0.105 117   Georgia 4.673 0.847 0.731 0.695 0.485 0.048 0.174 118   Iran 4.672 1.029 0.886 0.749 0.301 0.277 0.143 119   Jordan 4.633 0.785 1.140 0.778 0.425 0.091 0.152 120   Mozambique 4.624 0.179 0.955 0.324 0.561 0.220 0.163 121   Kenya 4.583 0.476 0.905 0.536 0.519 0.394 0.067 122   Namibia 4.571 0.840 1.246 0.407 0.445 0.076 0.054 123   Ukraine 4.561 0.780 1.321 0.699 0.319 0.179 0.010 124   Liberia 4.558 0.174 0.921 0.392 0.406 0.227 0.051 125   Palestine 4.553 0.588 1.195 0.614 0.299 0.092 0.072 126   Uganda 4.432 0.312 1.052 0.378 0.402 0.265 0.064 127   Chad 4.423 0.302 0.739 0.109 0.229 0.211 0.086 128   Tunisia 4.392 0.875 0.872 0.781 0.236 0.056 0.044 129   Mauritania 4.375 0.540 1.113 0.425 0.186 0.129 0.122 130   Sri Lanka 4.327 0.898 1.195 0.792 0.529 0.253 0.049 131   Congo (Kinshasa) 4.311 0.062 0.833 0.277 0.365 0.254 0.081 132   Eswatini 4.308 0.828 1.065 0.216 0.300 0.067 0.147 133   Myanmar 4.308 0.678 1.098 0.495 0.597 0.570 0.188 134   Comoros 4.289 0.416 0.723 0.437 0.181 0.259 0.100 135   Togo 4.187 0.268 0.548 0.343 0.304 0.201 0.115 136   Ethiopia 4.186 0.315 1.001 0.484 0.413 0.228 0.117 137   Madagascar 4.166 0.245 0.824 0.501 0.193 0.191 0.076 138   Egypt 4.151 0.875 0.983 0.597 0.374 0.069 0.095 139   Sierra Leone 3.926 0.241 0.748 0.204 0.382 0.258 0.048 140   Burundi 3.775 0.000 0.404 0.295 0.275 0.187 0.212 141   Zambia 3.759 0.537 0.896 0.364 0.491 0.251 0.087 142   Haiti 3.721 0.285 0.647 0.374 0.169 0.464 0.162 143   Lesotho 3.653 0.455 1.089 0.101 0.409 0.103 0.050 144   India 3.573 0.731 0.644 0.541 0.581 0.237 0.106 145   Malawi 3.538 0.177 0.530 0.446 0.487 0.213 0.132 146   Yemen 3.527 0.393 1.177 0.415 0.244 0.095 0.087 147   Botswana 3.479 0.998 1.086 0.494 0.509 0.033 0.102 148   Tanzania 3.476 0.457 0.873 0.443 0.509 0.272 0.204 149   Central African Republic 3.476 0.041 0.000 0.000 0.293 0.254 0.028 150   Rwanda 3.312 0.343 0.523 0.572 0.604 0.236 0.486 151   Zimbabwe 3.299 0.426 1.048 0.375 0.377 0.151 0.081 152   South Sudan 2.817 0.289 0.553 0.209 0.066 0.210 0.111 153   Afghanistan 2.567 0.301 0.356 0.266 0.000 0.135 0.001

2019 report

The 2019 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2016–2018. As per the 2019 Happiness Index, Finland is the 'happiest' country in the world. Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Netherlands hold the next top positions. The report was published on 20 March 2019 by UN. The full report can be read at 2019 Report. The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness.

Table

Overall rank Country or region Score GDP per capita Social support Healthy life expectancy Freedom to make life choices Generosity Perceptions of corruption 1   Finland 7.769 1.340 1.587 0.986 0.596 0.153 0.393 2   Denmark 7.600 1.383 1.573 0.996 0.592 0.252 0.410 3   Norway 7.554 1.488 1.582 1.028 0.603 0.271 0.341 4   Iceland 7.494 1.380 1.624 1.026 0.591 0.354 0.118 5   Netherlands 7.488 1.396 1.522 0.999 0.557 0.322 0.298 6    Switzerland 7.480 1.452 1.526 1.052 0.572 0.263 0.343 7   Sweden 7.343 1.387 1.487 1.009 0.574 0.267 0.373 8   New Zealand 7.307 1.303 1.557 1.026 0.585 0.330 0.380 9   Canada 7.278 1.365 1.505 1.039 0.584 0.285 0.308 10   Austria 7.246 1.376 1.475 1.016 0.532 0.244 0.226 11   Australia 7.228 1.372 1.548 1.036 0.557 0.332 0.290 12   Costa Rica 7.167 1.034 1.441 0.963 0.558 0.144 0.093 13   Israel 7.139 1.276 1.455 1.029 0.371 0.261 0.082 14   Luxembourg 7.090 1.609 1.479 1.012 0.526 0.194 0.316 15   United Kingdom 7.054 1.333 1.538 0.996 0.450 0.348 0.278 16   Ireland 7.021 1.499 1.553 0.999 0.516 0.298 0.310 17   Germany 6.985 1.373 1.454 0.987 0.495 0.261 0.265 18   Belgium 6.923 1.356 1.504 0.986 0.473 0.160 0.210 19   United States of America 6.892 1.433 1.457 0.874 0.454 0.280 0.128 20   Czech Republic 6.852 1.269 1.487 0.920 0.457 0.046 0.036 21   United Arab Emirates 6.825 1.503 1.310 0.825 0.598 0.262 0.182 22   Malta 6.726 1.300 1.520 0.999 0.564 0.375 0.151 23   Mexico 6.595 1.070 1.323 0.861 0.433 0.074 0.073 24   France 6.592 1.324 1.472 1.045 0.436 0.111 0.183 25   Taiwan 6.446 1.368 1.430 0.914 0.351 0.242 0.097 26   Chile 6.444 1.159 1.369 0.920 0.357 0.187 0.056 27   Guatemala 6.436 0.800 1.269 0.746 0.535 0.175 0.078 28   Saudi Arabia 6.375 1.403 1.357 0.795 0.439 0.080 0.132 29   Qatar 6.374 1.684 1.313 0.871 0.555 0.220 0.167 30   Spain 6.354 1.286 1.484 1.062 0.362 0.153 0.079 31   Panama 6.321 1.149 1.442 0.910 0.516 0.109 0.054 32   Brazil 6.300 1.004 1.439 0.802 0.390 0.099 0.086 33   Uruguay 6.293 1.124 1.465 0.891 0.523 0.127 0.150 34   Singapore 6.262 1.572 1.463 1.141 0.556 0.271 0.453 35   El Salvador 6.253 0.794 1.242 0.789 0.430 0.093 0.074 36   Italy 6.223 1.294 1.488 1.039 0.231 0.158 0.030 37   Bahrain 6.199 1.362 1.368 0.871 0.536 0.255 0.110 38   Slovakia 6.198 1.246 1.504 0.881 0.334 0.121 0.014 39   Trinidad & Tobago 6.192 1.231 1.477 0.713 0.489 0.185 0.016 40   Poland 6.182 1.206 1.438 0.884 0.483 0.117 0.050 41   Uzbekistan 6.174 0.745 1.529 0.756 0.631 0.322 0.240 42   Lithuania 6.149 1.238 1.515 0.818 0.291 0.043 0.042 43   Colombia 6.125 0.985 1.410 0.841 0.470 0.099 0.034 44   Slovenia 6.118 1.258 1.523 0.953 0.564 0.144 0.057 45   Nicaragua 6.105 0.694 1.325 0.835 0.435 0.200 0.127 46   Kosovo 6.100 0.882 1.232 0.758 0.489 0.262 0.006 47   Argentina 6.086 1.092 1.432 0.881 0.471 0.066 0.050 48   Romania 6.070 1.162 1.232 0.825 0.462 0.083 0.005 49   Cyprus 6.046 1.263 1.223 1.042 0.406 0.190 0.041 50   Ecuador 6.028 0.912 1.312 0.868 0.498 0.126 0.087 51   Kuwait 6.011 1.050 1.409 0.828 0.557 0.359 0.028 52   Thailand 6.008 1.050 1.409 0.828 0.557 0.359 0.028 53   Latvia 5.940 1.187 1.465 0.812 0.264 0.075 0.064 54   South Korea 5.895 1.301 1.219 1.036 0.159 0.175 0.056 55   Estonia 5.893 1.237 1.528 0.874 0.495 0.103 0.161 56   Jamaica 5.890 0.831 1.478 0.831 0.490 0.107 0.028 57   Mauritius 5.888 1.120 1.402 0.798 0.498 0.215 0.060 58   Japan 5.886 1.327 1.419 1.088 0.445 0.069 0.140 59   Honduras 5.860 0.642 1.236 0.828 0.507 0.246 0.078 60   Kazakhstan 5.809 1.173 1.508 0.729 0.410 0.146 0.096 61   Bolivia 5.779 0.776 1.209 0.706 0.511 0.137 0.064 62   Hungary 5.758 1.201 1.410 0.828 0.199 0.081 0.020 63   Paraguay 5.743 0.855 1.475 0.777 0.514 0.184 0.080 64   Northern Cyprus 5.718 1.263 1.252 1.042 0.417 0.191 0.162 65   Peru 5.697 0.960 1.274 0.854 0.455 0.083 0.027 66   Portugal 5.693 1.221 1.431 0.999 0.508 0.047 0.025 67   Pakistan 5.653 0.677 0.886 0.535 0.313 0.220 0.098 68   Russia 5.648 1.183 1.452 0.726 0.334 0.082 0.031 69   Philippines 5.631 0.807 1.293 0.657 0.558 0.117 0.107 70   Serbia 5.603 1.004 1.383 0.854 0.282 0.137 0.039 71   Moldova 5.529 0.685 1.328 0.739 0.245 0.181 0.000 72   Libya 5.525 1.044 1.303 0.673 0.416 0.133 0.152 73   Montenegro 5.523 1.051 1.361 0.871 0.197 0.142 0.080 74   Tajikistan 5.467 0.493 1.098 0.718 0.389 0.230 0.144 75   Croatia 5.432 1.155 1.266 0.914 0.296 0.119 0.022 76   Hong Kong 5.430 1.438 1.277 1.122 0.440 0.258 0.287 77   Dominican Republic 5.425 1.015 1.401 0.779 0.497 0.113 0.101 78   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.386 0.945 1.212 0.845 0.212 0.263 0.006 79   Turkey 5.373 1.183 1.360 0.808 0.195 0.083 0.106 80   Malaysia 5.339 1.221 1.171 0.828 0.508 0.260 0.024 81   Belarus 5.323 1.067 1.465 0.789 0.235 0.094 0.142 82   Greece 5.287 1.181 1.156 0.999 0.067 0.000 0.034 83   Mongolia 5.285 0.948 1.531 0.667 0.317 0.235 0.038 84   North Macedonia 5.274 0.983 1.294 0.838 0.345 0.185 0.034 85   Nigeria 5.265 0.696 1.111 0.245 0.426 0.215 0.041 86   Kyrgyzstan 5.261 0.551 1.438 0.723 0.508 0.300 0.023 87   Turkmenistan 5.247 1.052 1.538 0.657 0.394 0.244 0.028 88   Algeria 5.211 1.002 1.160 0.785 0.086 0.073 0.114 89   Morocco 5.208 0.801 0.782 0.782 0.418 0.036 0.076 90   Azerbaijan 5.208 1.043 1.147 0.769 0.351 0.035 0.182 91   Lebanon 5.197 0.987 1.224 0.815 0.216 0.166 0.027 92   Indonesia 5.192 0.931 1.203 0.660 0.491 0.498 0.028 93   China 5.191 1.029 1.125 0.893 0.521 0.058 0.100 94   Vietnam 5.175 0.741 1.346 0.851 0.543 0.147 0.073 95   Bhutan 5.082 0.813 1.321 0.604 0.457 0.370 0.167 96   Cameroon 5.044 0.549 0.910 0.331 0.381 0.187 0.037 97   Bulgaria 5.011 1.092 1.513 0.815 0.311 0.081 0.004 98   Ghana 4.996 0.611 0.868 0.486 0.381 0.245 0.040 99   Ivory Coast 4.944 0.569 0.808 0.232 0.352 0.154 0.090 100     Nepal 4.913 0.446 1.226 0.677 0.439 0.285 0.089 101   Jordan 4.906 0.837 1.225 0.815 0.383 0.110 0.130 102   Benin 4.883 0.393 0.437 0.397 0.349 0.175 0.082 103   Congo (Brazzaville) 4.812 0.673 0.799 0.508 0.372 0.105 0.093 104   Gabon 4.799 1.057 1.183 0.571 0.295 0.043 0.055 105   Laos 4.796 0.764 1.030 0.551 0.547 0.266 0.164 106   South Africa 4.722 0.960 1.351 0.469 0.389 0.130 0.055 107   Albania 4.719 0.947 0.848 0.874 0.383 0.178 0.027 108   Venezuela 4.707 0.960 1.427 0.805 0.154 0.064 0.047 109   Cambodia 4.700 0.574 1.122 0.637 0.609 0.232 0.062 110   Palestinian Territories 4.696 0.657 1.247 0.672 0.225 0.103 0.066 111   Senegal 4.681 0.450 1.134 0.571 0.292 0.153 0.072 112   Somalia 4.668 0.000 0.698 0.268 0.559 0.243 0.270 113   Namibia 4.639 0.879 1.313 0.477 0.401 0.070 0.056 114   Niger 4.628 0.138 0.774 0.366 0.318 0.188 0.102 115   Burkina Faso 4.587 0.331 1.056 0.380 0.255 0.177 0.113 116   Armenia 4.559 0.850 1.055 0.815 0.283 0.095 0.064 117   Iran 4.548 1.100 0.842 0.785 0.305 0.270 0.125 118   Guinea 4.534 0.380 0.829 0.375 0.332 0.207 0.086 119   Georgia 4.519 0.886 0.666 0.752 0.346 0.043 0.164 120   Gambia 4.516 0.308 0.939 0.428 0.382 0.269 0.167 121   Kenya 4.509 0.512 0.983 0.581 0.431 0.372 0.053 122   Mauritania 4.490 0.570 1.167 0.489 0.066 0.106 0.088 123   Mozambique 4.466 0.204 0.986 0.390 0.494 0.197 0.138 124   Tunisia 4.461 0.921 1.000 0.815 0.167 0.059 0.055 125   Bangladesh 4.456 0.562 0.928 0.723 0.527 0.166 0.143 126   Iraq 4.437 1.043 0.980 0.574 0.241 0.148 0.089 127   Congo (Kinshasa) 4.418 0.094 1.125 0.357 0.269 0.212 0.053 128   Mali 4.390 0.385 1.105 0.308 0.327 0.153 0.052 129   Sierra Leone 4.374 0.268 0.841 0.242 0.309 0.252 0.045 130   Sri Lanka 4.366 0.949 1.265 0.831 0.470 0.244 0.047 131   Myanmar 4.360 0.710 1.181 0.555 0.525 0.566 0.172 132   Chad 4.350 0.350 0.766 0.192 0.174 0.198 0.078 133   Ukraine 4.332 0.820 1.390 0.739 0.178 0.187 0.010 134   Ethiopia 4.286 0.336 1.033 0.532 0.344 0.209 0.100 135   Eswatini 4.212 0.811 1.149 0.000 0.313 0.074 0.135 136   Uganda 4.189 0.332 1.069 0.443 0.356 0.252 0.060 137   Egypt 4.166 0.913 1.039 0.644 0.241 0.076 0.067 138   Zambia 4.107 0.578 1.058 0.426 0.431 0.247 0.087 139   Togo 4.085 0.275 0.572 0.410 0.293 0.177 0.085 140   India 4.015 0.755 0.765 0.588 0.498 0.200 0.085 141   Liberia 3.975 0.073 0.922 0.443 0.370 0.233 0.033 142   Comoros 3.973 0.274 0.757 0.505 0.142 0.275 0.078 143   Madagascar 3.933 0.274 0.916 0.555 0.148 0.169 0.041 144   Lesotho 3.802 0.489 1.169 0.168 0.359 0.107 0.093 145   Burundi 3.775 0.046 0.447 0.380 0.220 0.176 0.180 146   Zimbabwe 3.663 0.366 1.114 0.433 0.361 0.151 0.089 147   Haiti 3.597 0.323 0.688 0.449 0.026 0.419 0.110 148   Botswana 3.488 1.041 1.145 0.538 0.455 0.025 0.100 149   Syria 3.462 0.619 0.378 0.440 0.013 0.331 0.141 150   Malawi 3.410 0.191 0.560 0.495 0.443 0.218 0.089 151   Yemen 3.380 0.287 1.163 0.463 0.143 0.108 0.077 152   Rwanda 3.334 0.359 0.711 0.614 0.555 0.217 0.411 153   Tanzania 3.231 0.476 0.885 0.499 0.417 0.276 0.147 154   Afghanistan 3.203 0.350 0.517 0.361 0.000 0.158 0.025 155   Central African Republic 3.083 0.026 0.000 0.105 0.225 0.235 0.035 156   South Sudan 2.853 0.306 0.575 0.295 0.010 0.202 0.091

2018 report

The 2018 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2015–2017. As per the 2018 Happiness Index, Finland is the 'happiest' country in the world. Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland hold the next top positions. The report was published on 14 March 2018 by UN. The full report can be read at 2018 Report. The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness. The World Happiness Report 2018, which ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants, was released on March 14 at a launch event at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican.

Table

Overall rank Country or region Score GDP per capita Social support Freedom to make life choices Generosity Perceptions of corruption 1   Finland 7.632 1.305 1.592 0.874 0.681 0.202 0.393 2   Norway 7.594 1.456 1.582 0.861 0.686 0.286 0.340 3   Denmark 7.555 1.351 1.590 0.868 0.683 0.284 0.408 4   Iceland 7.495 1.343 1.644 0.914 0.677 0.353 0.138 5    Switzerland 7.487 1.420 1.549 0.927 0.660 0.256 0.357 6   Netherlands 7.441 1.361 1.488 0.878 0.638 0.333 0.295 7   Canada 7.328 1.330 1.532 0.896 0.653 0.321 0.291 8   New Zealand 7.324 1.268 1.601 0.876 0.669 0.365 0.389 9   Sweden 7.314 1.355 1.501 0.913 0.659 0.285 0.383 10   Australia 7.272 1.340 1.573 0.910 0.647 0.361 0.302 11   United Kingdom 7.190 1.244 1.433 0.888 0.464 0.262 0.082 12   Austria 7.139 1.341 1.504 0.891 0.617 0.242 0.224 13   Costa Rica 7.072 1.010 1.459 0.817 0.632 0.143 0.101 14   Ireland 6.977 1.448 1.583 0.876 0.614 0.307 0.306 15   Germany 6.965 1.340 1.474 0.861 0.586 0.273 0.280 16   Belgium 6.927 1.324 1.483 0.894 0.583 0.188 0.240 17   Luxembourg 6.910 1.576 1.520 0.896 0.632 0.196 0.321 18   United States 6.886 1.398 1.471 0.819 0.547 0.291 0.133 19   Israel 6.814 1.301 1.559 0.883 0.533 0.354 0.272 20   United Arab Emirates 6.774 2.096 0.776 0.670 0.284 0.186 N/A 21   Czech Republic 6.711 1.233 1.489 0.854 0.543 0.064 0.034 22   Malta 6.627 1.270 1.525 0.884 0.645 0.376 0.142 23   France 6.489 1.293 1.466 0.908 0.520 0.098 0.176 24   Mexico 6.488 1.038 1.252 0.761 0.479 0.069 0.095 25   Chile 6.476 1.131 1.331 0.808 0.431 0.197 0.061 26   Taiwan 6.441 1.365 1.436 0.857 0.418 0.151 0.078 27   Panama 6.430 1.112 1.438 0.759 0.597 0.125 0.063 28   Brazil 6.419 0.986 1.474 0.675 0.493 0.110 0.088 29   Argentina 6.388 1.073 1.468 0.744 0.570 0.062 0.054 30   Guatemala 6.382 0.781 1.268 0.608 0.604 0.179 0.071 31   Uruguay 6.379 1.093 1.459 0.771 0.625 0.130 0.155 32   Qatar 6.374 1.649 1.303 0.748 0.654 0.256 0.171 33   Saudi Arabia 6.371 1.379 1.331 0.633 0.509 0.098 0.127 34   Singapore 6.343 1.529 1.451 1.008 0.631 0.261 0.457 35   Malaysia 6.322 1.161 1.258 0.669 0.356 0.311 0.059 36   Spain 6.310 1.251 1.538 0.965 0.449 0.142 0.074 37   Colombia 6.260 0.960 1.439 0.635 0.531 0.099 0.039 38   Trinidad & Tobago 6.192 1.223 1.492 0.564 0.575 0.171 0.019 39   Slovakia 6.173 1.210 1.537 0.776 0.354 0.118 0.014 40   El Salvador 6.167 0.806 1.231 0.639 0.461 0.065 0.082 41   Nicaragua 6.141 0.668 1.319 0.700 0.527 0.208 0.128 42   Poland 6.123 1.176 1.448 0.781 0.546 0.108 0.064 43   Bahrain 6.105 1.338 1.366 0.698 0.594 0.243 0.123 44   Uzbekistan 6.096 0.719 1.584 0.605 0.724 0.328 0.259 45   Kuwait 6.083 1.474 1.301 0.675 0.554 0.167 0.106 46   Thailand 6.072 1.016 1.417 0.707 0.637 0.364 0.029 47   Italy 6.000 1.264 1.501 0.946 0.281 0.137 0.028 48   Ecuador 5.973 0.889 1.330 0.736 0.556 0.114 0.120 49   Belize 5.956 0.807 1.101 0.474 0.593 0.183 0.089 50   Lithuania 5.952 1.197 1.527 0.716 0.350 0.026 0.006 51   Slovenia 5.948 1.219 1.506 0.856 0.633 0.160 0.051 52   Romania 5.945 1.116 1.219 0.726 0.528 0.088 0.001 53   Latvia 5.933 1.148 1.454 0.671 0.363 0.092 0.066 54   Japan 5.915 1.294 1.462 0.988 0.553 0.079 0.150 55   Mauritius 5.891 1.090 1.387 0.684 0.584 0.245 0.050 56   Jamaica 5.890 0.819 1.493 0.693 0.575 0.096 0.031 57   South Korea 5.875 1.266 1.204 0.955 0.244 0.175 0.051 58   Northern Cyprus 5.835 1.229 1.211 0.909 0.495 0.179 0.154 59   Russia 5.810 1.151 1.479 0.599 0.399 0.065 0.025 60   Kazakhstan 5.790 1.143 1.516 0.631 0.454 0.148 0.121 61   Cyprus 5.762 1.229 1.191 0.909 0.423 0.202 0.035 62   Bolivia 5.752 0.751 1.223 0.508 0.606 0.141 0.054 63   Estonia 5.739 1.200 1.532 0.737 0.553 0.086 0.174 64   Paraguay 5.681 0.835 1.522 0.615 0.541 0.162 0.074 65   Peru 5.663 0.934 1.249 0.674 0.530 0.092 0.034 66   Kosovo 5.662 0.855 1.230 0.578 0.448 0.274 0.023 67   Moldova 5.640 0.657 1.301 0.620 0.232 0.171 0.000 68   Turkmenistan 5.636 1.016 1.533 0.517 0.417 0.199 0.037 69   Hungary 5.620 1.171 1.401 0.732 0.259 0.061 0.022 70   Libya 5.566 0.985 1.350 0.553 0.496 0.116 0.148 71   Philippines 5.524 0.775 1.312 0.513 0.643 0.120 0.105 72   Honduras 5.504 0.620 1.205 0.622 0.459 0.197 0.074 73   Belarus 5.483 1.039 1.498 0.700 0.307 0.101 0.154 74   Turkey 5.483 1.148 1.380 0.686 0.324 0.106 0.109 75   Pakistan 5.472 0.652 0.810 0.424 0.334 0.216 0.113 76   Hong Kong 5.430 1.405 1.290 1.030 0.524 0.246 0.291 77   Portugal 5.410 1.188 1.429 0.884 0.562 0.055 0.017 78   Serbia 5.398 0.975 1.369 0.685 0.288 0.134 0.043 79   Greece 5.358 1.154 1.202 0.879 0.131 0.000 0.044 80 Lebanon 5.358 0.965 1.179 0.785 0.503 0.214 0.136 81   Montenegro 5.347 1.017 1.279 0.729 0.259 0.111 0.081 82   Croatia 5.321 1.115 1.161 0.737 0.380 0.120 0.039 83   Dominican Republic 5.302 0.982 1.441 0.614 0.578 0.120 0.106 84   Algeria 5.295 0.979 1.154 0.687 0.077 0.055 0.135 85   Morocco 5.254 0.779 0.797 0.669 0.460 0.026 0.074 86   China 5.246 0.989 1.142 0.799 0.597 0.029 0.103 87   Azerbaijan 5.201 1.024 1.161 0.603 0.430 0.031 0.176 88 Tajikistan 5.199 0.474 1.166 0.598 0.292 0.187 0.034 89   Macedonia 5.185 0.959 1.239 0.691 0.394 0.173 0.052 90   Jordan 5.161 0.822 1.265 0.645 0.468 0.130 0.134 91   Nigeria 5.155 0.689 1.172 0.048 0.462 0.201 0.032 92   Kyrgyzstan 5.131 0.530 1.416 0.594 0.540 0.281 0.035 93   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.129 0.915 1.078 0.758 0.280 0.216 0.000 94   Mongolia 5.125 0.914 1.517 0.575 0.395 0.253 0.032 95   Vietnam 5.103 0.715 1.365 0.702 0.618 0.177 0.079 96   Indonesia 5.093 0.899 1.215 0.522 0.538 0.484 0.018 97   Bhutan 5.082 0.796 1.335 0.527 0.541 0.364 0.171 98   Somalia 4.982 0.000 0.712 0.115 0.674 0.238 0.282 99   Cameroon 4.975 0.535 0.891 0.182 0.454 0.183 0.043 100   Bulgaria 4.933 1.054 1.515 0.712 0.359 0.064 0.009 101     Nepal 4.880 0.425 1.228 0.539 0.526 0.302 0.078 102   Venezuela 4.806 0.996 1.469 0.657 0.133 0.056 0.052 103   Gabon 4.758 1.036 1.164 0.404 0.356 0.032 0.052 104   Palestinian Territories 4.743 0.642 1.217 0.602 0.266 0.086 0.076 105   South Africa 4.724 0.940 1.410 0.330 0.516 0.103 0.056 106   Iran 4.707 1.059 0.771 0.691 0.459 0.282 0.129 107   Ivory Coast 4.671 0.541 0.872 0.080 0.467 0.146 0.103 108   Ghana 4.657 0.592 0.896 0.337 0.499 0.212 0.029 109   Senegal 4.631 0.429 1.117 0.433 0.406 0.138 0.082 110   Laos 4.623 0.720 1.034 0.441 0.626 0.230 0.174 111   Tunisia 4.592 0.900 0.906 0.690 0.271 0.040 0.063 112   Albania 4.586 0.916 0.817 0.790 0.419 0.149 0.032 113   Sierra Leone 4.571 0.256 0.813 0.000 0.355 0.238 0.053 114   Congo (Brazzaville) 4.559 0.682 0.811 0.343 0.514 0.091 0.077 115   Bangladesh 4.500 0.532 0.850 0.579 0.580 0.153 0.144 116   Sri Lanka 4.471 0.918 1.314 0.672 0.585 0.307 0.050 117   Iraq 4.456 1.010 0.971 0.536 0.304 0.148 0.095 118   Mali 4.447 0.370 1.233 0.152 0.367 0.139 0.056 119   Namibia 4.441 0.874 1.281 0.365 0.519 0.051 0.064 120   Cambodia 4.433 0.549 1.088 0.457 0.696 0.256 0.065 121   Burkina Faso 4.424 0.314 1.097 0.254 0.312 0.175 0.128 122   Egypt 4.419 0.885 1.025 0.553 0.312 0.092 0.107 123   Mozambique 4.417 0.198 0.902 0.173 0.531 0.206 0.158 124   Kenya 4.410 0.493 1.048 0.454 0.504 0.352 0.055 125   Zambia 4.377 0.562 1.047 0.295 0.503 0.221 0.082 126   Mauritania 4.356 0.557 1.245 0.292 0.129 0.134 0.093 127   Ethiopia 4.350 0.308 0.950 0.391 0.452 0.220 0.146 128   Georgia 4.340 0.853 0.592 0.643 0.375 0.038 0.215 129   Armenia 4.321 0.816 0.990 0.666 0.260 0.077 0.028 130   Myanmar 4.308 0.682 1.174 0.429 0.580 0.598 0.178 131   Chad 4.301 0.358 0.907 0.053 0.189 0.181 0.060 132   Congo (Kinshasa) 4.245 0.069 1.136 0.204 0.312 0.197 0.052 133   India 4.190 0.721 0.747 0.485 0.539 0.172 0.093 134   Niger 4.166 0.131 0.867 0.221 0.390 0.175 0.099 135   Uganda 4.161 0.322 1.090 0.237 0.450 0.259 0.061 136   Benin 4.141 0.378 0.372 0.240 0.440 0.163 0.067 137   Sudan 4.139 0.605 1.240 0.312 0.016 0.134 0.082 138   Ukraine 4.103 0.793 1.413 0.609 0.163 0.187 0.011 139   Togo 3.999 0.259 0.474 0.253 0.434 0.158 0.101 140   Guinea 3.964 0.344 0.792 0.211 0.394 0.185 0.094 141   Lesotho 3.808 0.472 1.215 0.079 0.423 0.116 0.112 142   Angola 3.795 0.730 1.125 0.269 0.000 0.079 0.061 143   Madagascar 3.774 0.262 0.908 0.402 0.221 0.155 0.049 144   Zimbabwe 3.692 0.357 1.094 0.248 0.406 0.132 0.099 145   Afghanistan 3.632 0.332 0.537 0.255 0.085 0.191 0.036 146   Botswana 3.590 1.017 1.174 0.417 0.557 0.042 0.092 147   Malawi 3.587 0.186 0.541 0.306 0.531 0.210 0.080 148   Haiti 3.582 0.315 0.714 0.289 0.025 0.392 0.104 149   Liberia 3.495 0.076 0.858 0.267 0.419 0.206 0.030 150   Syria 3.462 0.689 0.382 0.539 0.088 0.376 0.144 151   Rwanda 3.408 0.332 0.896 0.400 0.636 0.200 0.444 152   Yemen 3.355 0.442 1.073 0.343 0.244 0.083 0.064 153   Tanzania 3.303 0.455 0.991 0.381 0.481 0.270 0.097 154   South Sudan 3.254 0.337 0.608 0.177 0.112 0.224 0.106 155   Central African Republic 3.083 0.024 0.000 0.010 0.305 0.218 0.038 156   Burundi 2.905 0.091 0.627 0.145 0.065 0.149 0.076

2017 report

The 2017 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2014–2016. For that timespan, Norway was the overall 'happiest' country in the world, even though oil prices had dropped. Close behind were Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland in a tight pack. Four of the top five countries follow the Nordic model. All the top ten countries had high scores in the six categories. The ranked follow-on countries in the top ten are: Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden.

Table

Table of data for 2017: [56] Overall Rank Change in rank Country Score Change in score GDP per capita Social support Healthy life expectancy Freedom to make life choices Generosity Trust Residual 1 3   Norway 7.537 0.039 1.616 1.534 0.797 0.635 0.362 0.316 2.277 2 1   Denmark 7.522 0.004 1.482 1.551 0.793 0.626 0.355 0.401 2.314 3   Iceland 7.504 0.003 1.481 1.611 0.834 0.627 0.476 0.154 2.323 4 2    Switzerland 7.494 0.015 1.565 1.517 0.858 0.620 0.291 0.367 2.277 5   Finland 7.469 0.056 1.444 1.540 0.809 0.618 0.245 0.383 2.430 6 1   Netherlands 7.377 0.038 1.504 1.429 0.811 0.585 0.470 0.283 2.295 7 1   Canada 7.316 0.088 1.479 1.481 0.835 0.611 0.436 0.287 2.187 8   New Zealand 7.314 0.020 1.406 1.548 0.817 0.614 0.500 0.383 2.046 9   Australia 7.284 0.029 1.484 1.510 0.844 0.602 0.478 0.301 2.065 10   Sweden 7.284 0.007 1.494 1.478 0.831 0.613 0.385 0.384 2.098 11   Israel 7.213 0.054 1.375 1.376 0.838 0.406 0.330 0.085 2.802 12 2   Costa Rica 7.079 0.008 1.110 1.416 0.760 0.580 0.215 0.100 2.899 13 1   Austria 7.006 0.113 1.487 1.460 0.815 0.568 0.316 0.221 2.139 14 1   United States 6.993 0.111 1.546 1.420 0.774 0.506 0.393 0.136 2.218 15 4   Ireland 6.977 0.070 1.536 1.558 0.810 0.573 0.428 0.298 1.774 16   Germany 6.951 0.043 1.488 1.473 0.799 0.563 0.336 0.277 2.016 17 1   Belgium 6.891 0.038 1.464 1.462 0.818 0.540 0.232 0.251 2.124 18 2   Luxembourg 6.863 0.008 1.742 1.458 0.845 0.597 0.283 0.319 1.620 19 4   United Kingdom 6.714 0.011 1.442 1.496 0.805 0.508 0.493 0.265 1.704 20 4   Chile 6.652 0.053 1.253 1.284 0.819 0.377 0.327 0.082 2.510 21 7   United Arab Emirates 6.648 0.075 1.626 1.266 0.727 0.608 0.361 0.324 1.735 22 5   Brazil 6.635 0.317 1.107 1.431 0.617 0.437 0.162 0.111 2.769 23 4   Czech Republic 6.609 0.013 1.353 1.434 0.754 0.491 0.088 0.037 2.452 24 2   Argentina 6.599 0.051 1.185 1.440 0.695 0.495 0.109 0.060 2.614 25 4   Mexico 6.578 0.200 1.153 1.211 0.710 0.413 0.121 0.133 2.837 26 4   Singapore 6.572 0.167 1.692 1.354 0.949 0.550 0.346 0.464 1.216 27 3   Malta 6.527 0.039 1.343 1.488 0.822 0.589 0.575 0.153 1.557 28 1   Uruguay 6.454 0.091 1.218 1.412 0.719 0.579 0.175 0.178 2.172 29 10   Guatemala 6.454 0.130 0.872 1.256 0.540 0.531 0.283 0.077 2.894 30 5   Panama 6.452 0.249 1.234 1.373 0.706 0.550 0.211 0.071 2.307 31 1   France 6.442 0.036 1.431 1.388 0.844 0.470 0.130 0.173 2.006 32 1   Thailand 6.424 0.050 1.128 1.426 0.647 0.580 0.572 0.032 2.040 33 2   Taiwan 6.422 0.043 1.434 1.385 0.794 0.361 0.258 0.064 2.127 34 3   Spain 6.403 0.042 1.384 1.532 0.889 0.409 0.190 0.071 1.928 35 1   Qatar 6.375 1.871 1.274 0.710 0.604 0.330 0.439 1.145 36 5   Colombia 6.357 0.124 1.071 1.402 0.595 0.477 0.149 0.047 2.616 37 3   Saudi Arabia 6.344 0.035 1.531 1.287 0.590 0.450 0.148 0.273 2.065 38 5   Trinidad and Tobago 6.168 1.361 1.380 0.520 0.519 0.325 0.009 2.053 39 2   Kuwait 6.105 0.134 1.633 1.260 0.632 0.496 0.228 0.215 1.640 40 5   Slovakia 6.098 0.020 1.325 1.505 0.713 0.296 0.137 0.024 2.098 41 1   Bahrain 6.087 0.131 1.488 1.323 0.653 0.537 0.173 0.257 1.656 42 5   Malaysia 6.084 0.079 1.291 1.285 0.619 0.402 0.417 0.066 2.004 — —   Europe [lower-alpha 1] 6.080 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 43 5   Nicaragua 6.071 0.079 0.737 1.287 0.653 0.448 0.302 0.131 2.514 44 7   Ecuador 6.008 0.032 1.001 1.286 0.686 0.455 0.150 0.140 2.290 45 1   El Salvador 6.003 0.065 0.910 1.182 0.596 0.432 0.078 0.090 2.715 46 11   Poland 5.973 0.138 1.292 1.446 0.699 0.520 0.158 0.059 1.798 47 2   Uzbekistan 5.971 0.016 0.786 1.549 0.498 0.658 0.416 0.247 1.817 48 2   Italy 5.964 0.013 1.395 1.445 0.853 0.256 0.173 0.028 1.813 49 7   Russia 5.963 0.107 1.282 1.469 0.547 0.374 0.052 0.033 2.206 50 2   Belize 5.956 0.908 1.081 0.450 0.548 0.240 0.097 2.632 51 2   Japan 5.920 0.001 1.417 1.436 0.913 0.506 0.121 0.164 1.363 52 8   Lithuania 5.902 0.089 1.315 1.474 0.629 0.234 0.010 0.012 2.228 53 15   Algeria 5.872 0.483 1.092 1.146 0.618 0.233 0.069 0.146 2.568 54 14   Latvia 5.850 0.290 1.261 1.405 0.639 0.326 0.153 0.074 1.994 55   Moldova 5.838 0.059 0.729 1.252 0.589 0.241 0.209 0.010 2.808 56 2   South Korea 5.838 0.003 1.402 1.128 0.900 0.258 0.207 0.063 1.880 57 14   Romania 5.825 0.297 1.218 1.150 0.685 0.457 0.134 0.004 2.177 58 1   Bolivia 5.823 0.001 0.834 1.228 0.474 0.559 0.226 0.060 2.443 59 6   Turkmenistan 5.822 0.164 1.131 1.493 0.438 0.418 0.250 0.259 1.833 60 6   Kazakhstan 5.819 0.100 1.285 1.384 0.606 0.437 0.202 0.119 1.785 61 1   North Cyprus 5.810 0.039 1.347 1.186 0.835 0.471 0.267 0.155 1.549 62 1   Slovenia 5.758 0.010 1.341 1.453 0.791 0.573 0.243 0.045 1.313 63 1   Peru 5.715 0.028 1.035 1.219 0.630 0.450 0.127 0.047 2.207 64 2   Mauritius 5.629 0.019 1.189 1.210 0.638 0.491 0.361 0.042 1.698 65 4   Cyprus 5.621 0.075 1.356 1.131 0.845 0.355 0.271 0.041 1.621 66 6   Estonia 5.611 0.094 1.321 1.477 0.695 0.479 0.099 0.183 1.358 67 6   Belarus 5.569 0.233 1.157 1.445 0.638 0.295 0.155 0.156 1.723 68 1   Libya 5.525 0.090 1.102 1.358 0.520 0.466 0.152 0.093 1.835 69 9   Turkey 5.500 0.111 1.198 1.338 0.638 0.301 0.047 0.100 1.879 70   Paraguay 5.493 0.045 0.933 1.507 0.579 0.474 0.224 0.091 1.685 71 4   Hong Kong 5.472 0.014 1.552 1.263 0.943 0.491 0.374 0.294 0.555 72 10   Philippines 5.430 0.151 0.858 1.254 0.468 0.585 0.194 0.099 1.973 73 13   Serbia 5.395 0.218 1.069 1.258 0.651 0.209 0.220 0.041 1.947 74 6   Jordan 5.336 0.033 0.991 1.239 0.605 0.418 0.172 0.120 1.791 75 16   Hungary 5.324 0.179 1.286 1.343 0.688 0.176 0.078 0.037 1.716 76 3   Jamaica 5.311 0.199 0.926 1.368 0.641 0.474 0.234 0.055 1.612 — — World 5.305 [lower-alpha 2] N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 77 3   Croatia 5.293 0.195 1.223 0.968 0.701 0.256 0.248 0.043 1.854 78 1   Kosovo 5.279 0.122 0.951 1.138 0.541 0.260 0.320 0.057 2.011 79 4   China 5.273 0.028 1.081 1.161 0.741 0.473 0.029 0.023 1.765 80 12   Pakistan 5.269 0.137 0.727 0.673 0.402 0.235 0.315 0.124 2.792 81 2   Indonesia 5.262 0.052 0.996 1.274 0.492 0.443 0.612 0.015 1.429 82 38   Venezuela 5.250 0.834 1.128 1.431 0.617 0.154 0.065 0.064 1.789 83 5   Montenegro 5.237 0.076 1.121 1.238 0.667 0.195 0.198 0.088 1.729 84 6   Morocco 5.235 0.084 0.878 0.775 0.598 0.408 0.032 0.088 2.456 85 4   Azerbaijan 7.342 0.057 1.154 1.152 0.541 0.398 0.045 0.181 1.762 86 3   Dominican Republic 5.230 0.075 1.079 1.402 0.575 0.553 0.187 0.114 1.319 87 12   Greece 5.227 0.194 1.289 1.239 0.810 0.096 0.000 0.043 1.749 88 5   Lebanon 5.225 0.096 1.075 1.130 0.735 0.289 0.264 0.038 1.695 89 5   Portugal 5.195 0.072 1.315 1.367 0.796 0.498 0.095 0.016 1.108 90 3   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.182 0.019 0.982 1.069 0.705 0.204 0.329 0.000 1.892 91 13   Honduras 5.181 0.310 0.731 1.144 0.583 0.348 0.236 0.073 2.066 92 3   Macedonia 5.175 0.054 1.065 1.208 0.645 0.326 0.254 0.060 1.617 93 17   Somalia 5.151 0.289 0.023 0.721 0.114 0.602 0.292 0.282 3.117 94 2   Vietnam 5.074 0.013 0.789 1.277 0.652 0.571 0.235 0.088 1.462 95 8   Nigeria 5.074 0.199 0.784 1.216 0.057 0.395 0.231 0.026 2.365 96 4   Tajikistan 5.041 0.045 0.525 1.271 0.529 0.472 0.249 0.146 1.849 97 13   Bhutan 5.011 0.185 0.885 1.340 0.496 0.502 0.474 0.173 1.140 98 13   Kyrgyzstan 5.004 0.181 0.596 1.394 0.553 0.455 0.429 0.039 1.537 99 8     Nepal 4.962 0.169 0.480 1.179 0.504 0.440 0.394 0.073 1.891 100 1   Mongolia 4.955 0.048 1.027 1.493 0.558 0.394 0.338 0.033 1.111 101 15   South Africa 4.829 0.370 1.055 1.385 0.187 0.479 0.139 0.073 1.511 102 4   Tunisia 4.805 0.240 1.007 0.868 0.613 0.290 0.050 0.087 1.890 103 5   Palestinian Territories 4.775 0.021 0.716 1.156 0.566 0.255 0.114 0.089 1.879 104 16   Egypt 4.735 0.373 0.990 0.997 0.520 0.282 0.129 0.114 1.702 105 24   Bulgaria 4.714 0.497 1.161 1.434 0.708 0.289 0.113 0.011 0.996 106 5   Sierra Leone 4.709 0.074 0.368 0.984 0.006 0.319 0.293 0.071 2.668 107 7   Cameroon 4.695 0.182 0.564 0.946 0.133 0.430 0.236 0.051 2.334 108 3   Iran 4.692 0.121 1.157 0.712 0.639 0.249 0.387 0.049 1.499 109   Albania 4.644 0.011 0.996 0.804 0.731 0.381 0.201 0.040 1.490 110   Bangladesh 4.608 0.035 0.587 0.735 0.533 0.478 0.172 0.124 1.979 111 2   Namibia 4.574 0.964 1.098 0.339 0.520 0.077 0.093 1.482 112 10   Kenya 4.553 0.197 0.560 1.068 0.310 0.453 0.445 0.065 1.652 113 N/A   Mozambique 4.550 N/A 0.234 0.871 0.107 0.481 0.322 0.179 2.356 114 5   Myanmar 4.545 0.150 0.367 1.123 0.398 0.514 0.838 0.189 1.115 115 13   Senegal 4.535 0.316 0.479 1.180 0.409 0.378 0.183 0.115 1.790 116 10   Zambia 4.514 0.281 0.636 1.003 0.258 0.462 0.250 0.078 1.827 117 5   Iraq 4.497 0.078 1.103 0.979 0.501 0.289 0.200 0.107 1.319 118 16   Gabon 4.465 0.344 1.198 1.156 0.357 0.312 0.044 0.076 1.323 119 4   Ethiopia 4.460 0.048 0.339 0.865 0.353 0.409 0.313 0.165 2.016 120 3   Sri Lanka 4.440 0.025 1.010 1.260 0.625 0.561 0.491 0.074 0.419 121   Armenia 4.376 0.016 0.901 1.007 0.638 0.198 0.083 0.027 1.521 122 4   India 4.315 0.089 0.792 0.754 0.455 0.470 0.232 0.092 1.519 123 7   Mauritania 4.292 0.091 0.648 1.272 0.285 0.096 0.202 0.137 1.652 124 1   Congo (Brazzaville) 4.291 0.019 0.809 0.832 0.290 0.435 0.121 0.080 1.724 125 1   Georgia 4.286 0.034 0.951 0.571 0.650 0.309 0.054 0.252 1.500 126 1   Congo (Kinshasa) 4.280 0.044 0.092 1.229 0.191 0.236 0.246 0.060 2.225 127 8   Mali 4.190 0.117 0.476 1.281 0.169 0.307 0.183 0.105 1.668 128 11   Ivory Coast 4.180 0.264 0.603 0.905 0.049 0.448 0.201 0.130 1.845 129 11   Cambodia 4.168 0.261 0.602 1.006 0.430 0.633 0.386 0.068 1.043 130 3   Sudan 4.139 0.660 1.214 0.291 0.015 0.182 0.090 1.687 131 7   Ghana 4.120 0.156 0.667 0.874 0.296 0.423 0.257 0.025 1.578 132 9   Ukraine 4.096 0.228 0.895 1.395 0.576 0.123 0.270 0.023 0.814 133 13   Uganda 4.081 0.342 0.381 1.130 0.218 0.443 0.326 0.057 1.526 134 11   Burkina Faso 4.032 0.293 0.350 1.043 0.216 0.324 0.251 0.120 1.727 135 7   Niger 4.028 0.172 0.162 0.993 0.269 0.364 0.229 0.139 1.874 136 4   Malawi 3.970 0.186 0.233 0.513 0.315 0.467 0.287 0.073 2.082 137 7   Chad 3.936 0.173 0.438 0.954 0.041 0.162 0.216 0.054 2.071 138 7   Zimbabwe 3.875 0.318 0.376 1.083 0.197 0.336 0.189 0.095 1.598 139 N/A   Lesotho 3.808 N/A 0.521 1.190 0.000 0.391 0.157 0.119 1.430 140 1   Angola 3.795 0.071 0.858 1.104 0.050 0.000 0.098 0.070 1.614 141 13   Afghanistan 3.794 0.434 0.401 0.582 0.181 0.106 0.312 0.061 2.151 142 5   Botswana 3.766 0.208 1.122 1.222 0.342 0.505 0.099 0.099 0.378 143 10   Benin 3.657 0.173 0.431 0.435 0.210 0.426 0.208 0.061 1.886 144 4   Madagascar 3.644 0.051 0.306 0.913 0.375 0.189 0.209 0.067 1.585 145 9   Haiti 3.603 0.425 0.369 0.640 0.277 0.030 0.489 0.100 1.697 146 1   Yemen 3.593 0.131 0.592 0.935 0.310 0.249 0.104 0.057 1.346 147 4   South Sudan 3.591 0.241 0.397 0.601 0.163 0.147 0.286 0.117 1.880 148 2   Liberia 3.533 0.089 0.119 0.872 0.230 0.333 0.267 0.039 1.673 149 2   Guinea 3.507 0.100 0.245 0.791 0.194 0.349 0.265 0.111 1.552 150 5   Togo 3.495 0.192 0.305 0.432 0.247 0.380 0.197 0.096 1.837 151 1   Rwanda 3.471 0.044 0.369 0.946 0.326 0.582 0.253 0.455 0.540 152 4   Syria 3.462 0.393 0.777 0.396 0.501 0.082 0.494 0.151 1.062 153 4   Tanzania 3.349 0.317 0.511 1.042 0.365 0.390 0.354 0.066 0.621 154 3   Burundi 2.905 0.092 0.630 0.152 0.060 0.204 0.084 1.683 155 N/A   Central African Republic 2.693 N/A 0.000 0.000 0.019 0.271 0.281 0.057 2.066

2016 report

Table

Legend: [57]   Explained by: GDP per capita   Explained by: Social support   Explained by: Healthy life expectancy   Explained by: Freedom to make life choices   Explained by: Generosity   Trust or absence of corruption, as explained by the publicly perceived absence of corruption in government and business [58] Italics: States with limited recognition and disputed territories Overall Rank [59] [60] Country Score Change Over Prior Year GDP per capita Social support Healthy life expectancy Freedom to make life choices Generosity Trust 1   Denmark 7.526 -0.401 2   Switzerland 7.509 0.035 3   Iceland 7.501 0.000 4   Norway 7.498 0.082 5   Finland 7.413 -0.259 6   Canada 7.404 -0.041 7   Netherlands 7.339 -0.119 8   New Zealand 7.334 -0.097 9   Australia 7.313 0.002 10   Sweden 7.291 -0.017 11   Israel 7.267 0.258 12   Austria 7.119 -0.003 13   United States 7.104 -0.261 14   Costa Rica 7.087 -0.171 15   Puerto Rico 7.039 0.446 16   Germany 6.994 0.486 17   Brazil 6.952 0.474 18   Belgium 6.929 -0.311 19   Ireland 6.907 -0.238 20   Luxembourg 6.871 0.000 21   Mexico 6.778 0.225 22   Singapore 6.739 0.099 23   United Kingdom 6.725 -0.161 24   Chile 6.705 0.826 25   Panama 6.701 0.191 26   Argentina 6.650 0.457 27   Czech Republic 6.596 0.126 28   United Arab Emirates 6.573 -0.161 29   Uruguay 6.545 0.804 30   Malta 6.488 0.000 31   Colombia 6.481 0.399 32   France 6.478 -0.336 33   Thailand 6.474 0.631 34   Saudi Arabia 6.379 -0.794 35   Taiwan 6.379 0.190 36   Qatar 6.375 0.000 37   Spain 6.361 -0.711 38   Algeria 6.355 0.000 39   Guatemala 6.324 0.211 40   Suriname 6.269 0.000 41   Kuwait 6.239 0.164 42   Bahrain 6.218 0.000 43   Trinidad and Tobago 6.168 0.336 44   Venezuela 6.084 -0.762 45   Slovakia 6.078 0.814 46   El Salvador 6.068 0.572 47   Malaysia 6.005 -0.132 48   Nicaragua 5.992 1.285 49   Uzbekistan 5.987 0.755 50   Italy 5.977 -0.735 51   Ecuador 5.976 0.966 52   Belize 5.956 -0.495 53   Japan 5.921 -0.446 54   Kazakhstan 5.919 0.322 55   Moldova 5.897 0.959 56   Russia 5.856 0.738 57   Poland 5.835 0.098 58   South Korea 5.835 0.295 59   Bolivia 5.822 0.322 60   Lithuania 5.813 -0.069 61   Belarus 5.802 0.165 62   Northern Cyprus 5.771 0.000 63   Slovenia 5.768 -0.044 64   Peru 5.743 0.730 65   Turkmenistan 5.658 0.000 66   Mauritius 5.648 0.000 67   Libya 5.615 0.000 68   Latvia 5.560 0.872 69   Cyprus 5.546 -0.692 70   Paraguay 5.538 0.536 71   Romania 5.528 0.310 72   Estonia 5.517 0.165 73   Jamaica 5.510 -0.698 74   Croatia 5.488 -0.333 75   Hong Kong 5.458 -0.053 76   Somalia 5.440 0.000 77 Kosovo 5.401 0.298 78   Turkey 5.389 0.216 79   Indonesia 5.314 0.295 80   Jordan 5.303 -0.638 81   Azerbaijan 5.291 0.642 82   Philippines 5.279 0.425 83   People's Republic of China 5.245 0.525 84   Bhutan 5.196 0.000 85   Kyrgyzstan 5.185 0.515 86   Serbia 5.177 0.426 87   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.163 0.263 88   Montenegro 5.161 -0.035 89   Dominican Republic 5.155 0.070 90   Morocco 5.151 0.000 91   Hungary 5.145 0.070 92   Pakistan 5.132 -0.374 93   Lebanon 5.129 0.059 94   Portugal 5.123 -0.282 95   North Macedonia 5.121 0.627 96   Vietnam 5.061 -0.299 97 Somaliland region 5.057 0.000 98   Tunisia 5.045 0.000 99   Greece 5.033 -1.294 100   Tajikistan 4.996 0.474 101   Mongolia 4.907 0.298 102   Laos 4.876 -0.344 103   Nigeria 4.875 0.075 104   Honduras 4.871 -0.375 105   Iran 4.813 -0.507 106   Zambia 4.795 0.381 107   Nepal 4.793 0.135 108 Palestinian Territories [61] 4.754 0.321 109   Albania 4.655 0.021 110   Bangladesh 4.643 0.170 111   Sierra Leone 4.635 1.028 112   Iraq 4.575 0.000 113   Namibia 4.574 -0.312 114   Cameroon 4.513 0.413 115   Ethiopia 4.508 0.000 116   South Africa 4.459 -0.686 117   Sri Lanka 4.415 0.037 118   India 4.404 -0.750 119   Myanmar 4.395 0.000 120   Egypt 4.362 -0.996 121   Armenia 4.360 -0.226 122   Kenya 4.356 -0.044 123   Ukraine 4.324 -0.701 124   Ghana 4.276 -0.600 125   Republic of the Congo 4.272 0.000 126   Georgia 4.252 0.561 127   Democratic Republic of the Congo 4.236 0.000 128   Senegal 4.219 -0.328 129   Bulgaria 4.217 0.373 130   Mauritania 4.201 0.052 131   Zimbabwe 4.193 0.639 132   Malawi 4.156 -0.205 133   Sudan 4.139 0.000 134   Gabon 4.121 0.000 135   Mali 4.073 0.059 136   Haiti 4.028 0.274 137   Botswana 3.974 -0.765 138   Comoros 3.956 0.000 139   Ivory Coast 3.916 0.000 140   Cambodia 3.907 0.045 141   Angola 3.866 0.000 142   Niger 3.856 -0.144 143   South Sudan 3.832 0.000 144   Chad 3.763 -0.025 145   Burkina Faso 3.739 -0.170 146   Uganda 3.739 -0.356 147   Yemen 3.724 -0.754 148   Madagascar 3.695 -0.285 149   Tanzania 3.666 -0.460 150   Liberia 3.622 -0.080 151   Guinea 3.607 0.000 152   Rwanda 3.515 -0.700 153   Benin 3.484 0.154 154   Afghanistan 3.360 0.000 155   Togo 3.303 0.100 156   Syria 3.069 0.000 157   Burundi 2.905 0.000

2013 report

Table

Rank [62] Country Happiness 1   Denmark 7.693 2   Norway 7.655 3    Switzerland 7.650 4   Netherlands 7.512 5   Sweden 7.480 6   Canada 7.477 7   Finland 7.389 8   Austria 7.369 9   Iceland 7.355 10   Australia 7.350 11   Israel 7.301 12   Costa Rica 7.257 13   New Zealand 7.221 14   United Arab Emirates 7.144 15   Panama 7.143 16   Mexico 7.088 17   United States 7.082 18   Ireland 7.076 19   Luxembourg 7.054 20   Venezuela 7.039 21   Belgium 6.967 22   United Kingdom 6.883 23   Oman 6.853 24   Brazil 6.849 25   France 6.764 26   Germany 6.672 27   Qatar 6.666 28   Chile 6.587 29   Argentina 6.562 30   Singapore 6.546 31   Trinidad and Tobago 6.519 32   Kuwait 6.515 33   Saudi Arabia 6.480 34   Cyprus 6.466 35   Colombia 6.416 36   Thailand 6.371 37   Uruguay 6.355 38   Spain 6.322 39   Czech Republic 6.290 40   Suriname 6.269 41   South Korea 6.267 42   Taiwan 6.221 43   Japan 6.064 44   Slovenia 6.060 45   Italy 6.021 46   Slovakia 5.969 47   Guatemala 5.965 48   Malta 5.964 49   Ecuador 5.865 50   Bolivia 5.857 51   Poland 5.822 52   El Salvador 5.809 53   Moldova 5.791 54   Paraguay 5.779 55   Peru 5.776 56   Malaysia 5.760 57   Kazakhstan 5.671 58   Croatia 5.661 59   Turkmenistan 5.628 60   Uzbekistan 5.623 61   Angola 5.589 62   Albania 5.550 63   Vietnam 5.533 64   Hong Kong 5.523 65   Nicaragua 5.507 66   Belarus 5.504 67   Mauritius 5.477 68   Russia 5.464 69   North Cyprus 5.463 70   Greece 5.435 71   Lithuania 5.426 72   Estonia 5.426 73   Algeria 5.422 74   Jordan 5.414 75   Jamaica 5.374 76   Indonesia 5.348 77   Turkey 5.345 78   Libya 5.340 79   Bahrain 5.312 80   Montenegro 5.299 81   Pakistan 5.292 82   Nigeria 5.248 83   Kosovo 5.222 84   Honduras 5.142 85   Portugal 5.101

Criticism

Metrics

Critics have pointed out the difference between evaluations and experiences of well-being. ^{[63] [64]} For instance Colombia came 37th in the 2018 World Happiness Report rankings but first by daily emotional experience in Gallup's Positive Experience Index. ^[65] The inconsistencies in the results of different happiness measurement surveys have also been noted, for instance, a Pew survey of 43 countries in 2014 (which excluded most of Europe) had Mexico, Israel, and Venezuela finishing first, second and third. ^[66] Others point out that the variables of interest used by the World Happiness Report are more appropriate for measuring national-level rather than individual-level happiness. ^[67]

Methodology

The World Happiness Report's use of a single-item indicator of subjective well-being is fundamentally different from more traditional Index approaches which use a range of indicators such as the United Nations' Human Development Index, the OECD Better Life Index of 2011, or the Social Progress Index of 2013. There has also been an ongoing debate regarding single-item and multi-item scales as measures of life satisfaction. ^[68]

The idea that subjective well-being can be captured by a survey has also been contested by economists, who have identified that people’s assessments of their happiness can be affected by how, for example, their country’s education system grades exams, and that survey questions on subjective well-being are affected by response styles. ^[69]

Legitimacy

In 2014, British journalist Michael Booth questioned the legitimacy of the Nordic countries' freedom and happiness rankings in his book The Almost Nearly Perfect People. In it, he criticizes Denmark's environmental footprint and notes that the taxes and personal debt levels among its citizens are the highest in the world. ^[70] He also writes that in Finland, the most common type of prescription medications in the country are antipsychotic. He also points out the country's high alcohol consumption, murder, and suicide rates. ^[71] Further, he argues that he doesn't think the Danes were the world's happiest people, but instead described them as the "most satisfied". ^[72]

See also

• World portal

• Bhutan GNH Index
• Broad measures of economic progress
• Disability-adjusted life year
• Economics
• Green national product
• Gender-related Development Index
• Genuine Progress Indicator
• Gross National Happiness
• Happiness economics
• Happy Planet Index
• Human Development Index
• International Happiness Day
• Legatum Prosperity Index
• Leisure satisfaction
• Money-rich, time-poor
• OECD Better Life Index
• Post-materialism
• Progressive utilization theory
• Psychometrics
• Subjective life satisfaction
• Where-to-be-born Index
• Wikiprogress
• World Values Survey
• WIN/GIA

Notes

1. Score not included in the original report, but was attained by adding up Europe's scores and then dividing for an average: 6.08044.
2. Score not included in the original report, but was attained by adding up all the scores and then dividing for an average: 5.3053935483871.

References

1. "FAQ". worldhappiness.report. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
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External links

• Official website
• Sustainable Development Solutions Network
• The Guardian 20 March 2017
• Interactive map of countries by happiness score as well as GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption 2018