WASHINGTON, D.C. — Finland once again leads the world as the happiest country, according to the latest World Happiness Report, marking its ninth consecutive year at No. 1.
The Nordic nations continue to dominate the top of the rankings, with Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway joining Finland in filling five of the top six spots this year.
But the top of the list now extends beyond Western advanced economies. Costa Rica ranks fourth, entering the top five for the first time and achieving the highest ranking ever for a Latin American country. The Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg and Switzerland round out the top 10.
Beyond shifts in the overall rankings, differences are also emerging within them — particularly across generations. In most parts of the world, young people report higher life evaluations today than in the past, though several high-income countries show the opposite pattern.
The rankings in the 14th World Happiness Report draw on Gallup World Poll data collected in more than 140 countries. Life evaluations are measured by asking respondents to rate their lives on a ladder from zero, the worst possible life, to 10, the best possible life. The annual rankings reflect three-year averages, allowing meaningful comparisons across countries and generations, and over time.
The Happiest Countries: Then vs. Now
The composition of the top 10 has shifted since 2013, the first World Happiness Report to use three-year averages. In 2013, the group consisted entirely of high-income Western economies. In the current report, eight are. Costa Rica’s rise to fourth and Israel’s position at eighth broaden the geographic mix at the top.
At the same time, several long-standing high-income countries have moved down in the rankings. Canada has fallen from sixth to 25th, Austria from eighth to 19th, and Australia from 10th to 15th.
Despite these shifts, much of the top 20 remains familiar. Fourteen Western advanced countries appear in the top 20, both in 2013 and today. In 2013, these Western economies were joined by four countries from Latin America — Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico and Venezuela — and two from the Middle East, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Reflecting longer-term convergence in life evaluations between Eastern and Western Europe, three of the top 20 are now from Central and Eastern Europe, including Kosovo at 16, Slovenia at 18 and the Czech Republic at 20. The current top 20 also includes two Latin American countries, Costa Rica at 4 and Mexico at 12, and one from the Middle East, Israel at 8.
The United States has declined from 17th to 23rd, a shift driven largely by lower life evaluations among young adults.
Happiness Gains and Losses
Rankings show how countries compare with one another. Changes in people’s life evaluations reveal how life has evolved within countries over time.
Comparing the most recent life evaluations with the 2006 to 2010 baseline period, the early years of the Gallup World Poll, shows that happiness has improved in more countries than it has declined in.
- 79 of the 136 countries ranked have seen statistically significant increases in happiness (all increases of 0.15 points or more on the 0–10 scale).
- 41 countries have experienced statistically significant decreases (all drops of 0.11 points or more).
The largest gains have occurred primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. These trends reflect a gradual convergence in life evaluations between Eastern and Western Europe that has been unfolding for more than a decade. Among the 21 countries that gained a full point or more, several stand out:
- Serbia
- Bulgaria
- Latvia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
By contrast, only eight countries have lost more than a full point in the past 20 years:
- Afghanistan
- Malawi
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Venezuela
- Botswana
- Egypt
- Yemen
Most of these countries with declines are experiencing major instability or conflict, which continues to shape how people evaluate their lives.
A Generational Divide
The shifts extend beyond geography. In most countries, young people report higher life evaluations today than they did about 20 years ago. In 85 of the 136 countries studied, people under 25 report higher life evaluations than they did in the 2006 to 2010 period.
In many countries where overall happiness scores have risen the most, much of the improvement appears to come from younger generations. A number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe — including Serbia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania and Lithuania — rank among those with the largest gains in youth life evaluations since 2006–2010.
In the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, collectively known as the NANZ countries, this did not happen. In these four countries, youth happiness has fallen by an average of 0.86 points on the 0 to 10 scale.
Outside of these countries, the trend is largely positive. In eight of the 10 global regions, covering roughly 90% of the world’s population, younger people report higher life evaluations today than in 2006 to 2010. Youth wellbeing has declined only in the NANZ countries and in Western Europe.
The report does not attribute these changes to any single factor. However, much of this year’s report examines the role of social media and related digital trends in shaping younger generations’ experiences.
Bottom Line
The latest World Happiness Report rankings capture recent structural shifts in how people evaluate their lives. While the very top of the list remains anchored in Northern Europe, long-term gains in Central and Eastern Europe and generational declines in some high-income countries point to a changing global landscape.
Rankings show how countries compare. Changes in life evaluations reveal how people’s experiences are evolving within them. Leaders who pay attention to both are better positioned to strengthen wellbeing across generations and over time.
Find out what else happiness researchers found in this year’s World Happiness Report.
The World Happiness Report is published under a partnership among Gallup, Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the WHR's Editorial Board.
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For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
