A teacher and her students water flowers at a school site in Lao Cai Province. Photo by VGP.
This marks a significant improvement from its previous average ranking of 75th, with the lowest recorded position being 96th. Among Southeast Asian nations, only Singapore ranked higher, securing 36th place in this year's report.
The annual World Happiness Report was released on the occasion of the United Nations' International Day of Happiness, March 20. The rankings are based on data collected by the Gallup World Poll, which surveys individuals in over 140 countries and territories. The results reflect average life evaluations over the past three years, from 2022 to 2024.
The report is produced in collaboration with Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and a panel of experts.
The rankings are determined through respondents' assessments of their overall life satisfaction. To explain these evaluations, the report considers six key factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption. These factors help illustrate why certain countries consistently rank higher in overall happiness.
For the eighth consecutive year, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world. Other Nordic nations continue to dominate the top positions, with Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden maintaining their rankings from 2024. Norway remains in seventh place.
A notable shift in this year's report is the inclusion of two Latin American countries in the top 10, with Costa Rica ranking sixth and Mexico securing the tenth spot. Other nations in the top 10 include the Netherlands in fifth place, Israel in eighth, and Luxembourg in ninth.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the rankings, Afghanistan remains the least happy country, placing 147th. Other low-ranked nations include Sierra Leone (146th), Lebanon (145th), Malawi (144th), and Zimbabwe (143rd).
