For the eighth year in a row, Finland has taken the No. 1 spot on the World Happiness Report‘s list of the happiest countries. Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also made the top 10.
The Nordic countries dominating this list shouldn’t come as a surprise, says Ilana Ron Levey, managing director at Gallup. There is stability in countries that provide for their residents.
“Finland is an extraordinary outlier and I think the world is really focused on understanding what is unique about Finland,” she says. She cites “a belief in others,” optimism for the future, trust in institutions, and support from friends and family as reasons why Finnish people are happier than most.
“I think another important point about Finland is that there is less well-being inequality within the country as compared to a country like the United States,” Ron Levey says. “In Finland, there’s more of a consensus about feeling good about your life.”
The World Happiness Report ranked countries according to self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022-2024 and answers to the Cantril ladder question in the Gallup World Poll. It asks respondents to think of a ladder with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst being a zero. They are then asked to rate their current lives on that scale.
The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, which publishes the report, says that in addition to the Cantril ladder question, the report also considers the following six variables in the more than 130 countries ranked in the report:
- GDP per capita
- Social Support
- Healthy life expectancy
- Freedom
- Generosity
- Freedom of corruption
Ron Levey thinks there is one other thing other countries can learn from Finland: the importance of benevolent acts.
“Good deeds also boost the happiness of the giver, and it’s not just about the recipient,” she says.
United States
© Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images
The United States failed to make the top 10 list, and actually fell from the No. 23 spot last year to No. 24.
Ron Levey attributes that fall partially to young people under the age of 30 who are feeling worse about their lives than they used to.
“They’re feeling less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices and less optimistic about their living standards,” she says.
The report found that Americans are spending more and more time dining alone. In 2023, roughly 1 in 4 Americans reported eating all their meals alone the previous day, an increase of 53% since 2003.
“Dining alone has become more prevalent for every age group, but especially for young people,” the report states.
Ron Levey notes that while, at first glance, sharing meals might seem a bit niche, the report has found that people who eat frequently with each other are a lot happier.
“Happiness is so much more about trust, social connections, relationships and all these different dimensions and not just GDP or higher salaries,” she says. “What really distinguishes the happiest countries are trusting strong relationships, optimism for the future, acts of generosity and just fundamentally believing in others goodwill.”
Costa Rica and Mexico both ranked in the top 10 for the first time, which Ron Levey says shows that you don’t need to be one of the world’s wealthiest countries to make people happy.
“High life evaluation is possible when basic economic needs are being met,” she says. “One message for all countries is that wealth is insufficient for your population to feel happy about their lives and to have strong life evaluation.”
Top 10 happiest countries in the world
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
Denmark is the No. 2 happiest country in the world for 2025. It has been in the top 10 in the World Happiness Report for over a decade.
Like Finland and the other Nordic countries on the list, people in Denmark are happy because the country offers a social safety net, social connections. Also, young people feel good about their lives in these places.
“They have high marks for benevolence and believe in the fundamental goodwill of others,” Ron Levey says.
Denmark
Nick Pedersen | Stone | Getty Images
Though people in Denmark pay some of the world’s highest taxes — up to half of their income — it is balanced out by the fact that most healthcare in the country is free, childcare is subsidized, university students pay no tuition and receive grants to help cover expenses while studying. Also, the elderly receive pensions and are provided with care helpers.
According to the OECD Better Life Index, the Nordic country outperforms the average in jobs, education, health, environmental quality, social connections, civic engagement and life satisfaction. Denmark is a founding member of the OECD and NATO.
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