Finland Retains Top Spot as the World's Happiest Country

Helsinki, Finland

Finland Retains Top Spot as the World's Happiest Country

For the eighth consecutive year, Finland has secured the top position in the annual World Happiness Report. Released on the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, the report evaluates how individuals across more than 140 nations perceive their quality of life. On a scale where 10 represents the best life imaginable, Finland emerged victorious with an average rating of 7.74.

“They’re wealthy, they’re healthy, have social connections, social support, [and] a connection with nature,” says Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, an economics professor at the University of Oxford, who leads the Wellbeing Research Center and serves as an editor for The World Happiness Report. “They’re not happy, joyful, dancing in the streets type people, but they’re very content with their lives.”

Denmark secured the second spot, followed by Iceland in third place, Sweden in fourth, and the Netherlands in fifth. This year saw Mexico (10th place) and Costa Rica (6th place) enter the top 10 for the first time. Meanwhile, the United States experienced a significant decline, dropping to its lowest-ever ranking at 24th. The previous year had already marked the first time the U.S. fell out of the top 20 since the report’s inception in 2012.

While Nordic nations have maintained their dominance at the top, their happiness levels continue to rise, whereas happiness in the U.S. has declined. Although GDP per capita is comparable between Nordic countries, the U.S., Australia, and the U.K., what sets them apart is the distribution of wealth.

“In these Nordic Scandinavian countries, a rising tide lifts all boats, so the levels of economic inequality are much less, and that reflects in well-being as well,” De Neve explains. “In Finland, most people will rate themselves as seven or an eight, whereas if you look at the distribution of well-being in the States, there’s a lot of 10s out there, but there’s a lot of ones as well.”

The rankings were determined by factors such as GDP per capita, income distribution, and life expectancy, but the research also underscored that social trust and interpersonal connections play a more significant role in happiness than many might assume.

This year’s findings revealed a strong link between an individual’s belief in the kindness of others and their own happiness. Across different societies, people tend to underestimate the likelihood of kindness in everyday life, such as whether a lost wallet would be returned. However, research indicates that wallets are returned nearly twice as often as people predict. Compared to the U.S., a greater percentage of Nordic residents believe a lost wallet will be returned—and their expectations align with reality.

Regular social interactions, such as dining with others, foster trust and contribute to happiness, according to the report. “The more you believe in the kindness of others, or in other words, are socially trusting, the higher your individual well-being and the higher collective well-being,” De Neve states. “The Nordic countries, the Scandinavian countries, do better, both in the belief in others’ kindness and in the actual wallet drop.”

Regarding Mexico and Costa Rica’s first-ever inclusion in the top 10, De Neve attributes their success to strong social networks. Latin American nations ranked highest for communal meals and displayed significant levels of social connectivity and trust. This social cohesion explains why these nations saw a steep decline in happiness during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. De Neve notes that “13 out of 14 meals shared across seven days correlated to the highest well-being measure.”

“It is not because of high GDP and the highest life expectancy,” De Neve says of the two countries’ rankings. “They do spend time dining and lunching with others, having friends, and it’s not all cannibalized by social media, and so we picked this up in the data.”

The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with partners such as Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, publishes the report annually. An editorial board also contributes its analysis on a pro bono basis.

As De Neve examined Finland’s continued success, he identified a key factor distinguishing the country from its Nordic counterparts.

“They’re content with less,” he observes. “They had less, and they’re more content with less. So they’re happier with what they’ve got.”

The World’s 10 Happiest Countries:

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Netherlands
6. Costa Rica
7. Norway
8. Israel
9. Luxembourg
10. Mexico