The happiest countries in 2025
The World Happiness Report 2025 came out on March 20, the International Day of Happiness. It was made by the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report uses a survey from Gallup World Poll in over 140 countries. People were asked to rate their life from 0 to 10. The average score from the last three years decides each country's place in the list.
The report looks at six things to explain the scores: social support, health, freedom, generosity, corruption, and GDP.
Finland is the happiest country again for the eighth year. Other happy Nordic countries are Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. They are all in the top 7.
The unhappiest countries are Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan. The United States is now in 24th place, its lowest rank since 2011.
Why are Nordic countries happier?
Nordic countries have good health care, education, and social support. Some people also think their kindness and simple lifestyle help make them happy.
Why are some countries unhappy?
Poverty, social problems, and wars cause sadness. In Afghanistan, women have fewer rights. This makes it the unhappiest country in the world.
Kindness makes us happy.
The theme of the 2025 report is "The Impact of Caring and Sharing on Happiness." It says helping others makes both the giver and the receiver happier.
Since COVID-19, kind actions like donating and volunteering have grown by 10% around the world.
The report also says people are happiest in homes with four to five people. Eating together also makes people feel happier.
Kindness and generosity can also save lives. Being kind helps everyone feel happy!
