Are you happy? This can be a tough question to answer. Today, March 20, is the International Day of Happiness, a United Nations holiday since 2012. And it’s on this day that the annual World Happiness Report is released, ranking the world’s happiest countries. The report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup, which polled residents of 147 countries to see how happy they feel. So who’s on top and whose ranking is dropping? We bet you can guess; read on to find out.
What is the happiest country in the world?
According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row. It’s followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands in the annual survey released on Thursday, March 20, 2025, that ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. Northern European countries dominate the top 10, but Costa Rica (#6), Israel (#8), and Mexico (#10) are in there, too. (Note: Analysis is based on a three-year average, so some surveying in Israel took place after the attacks on October 7, 2023, which may have affected the data.)
It’s probably no surprise to know the United States’ happiness ranking has stayed the same or dropped each year since 2012 and is now ranked 24 out of the 147 countries surveyed.
Access to nature, such as in Finland’s densely forested Lapland region, is shown to improve happiness.
Photo by Valdis Skudre/Shutterstock
Why are the Finnish so happy?
“Finnish happiness boils down to the simple things in life: connecting with nature, caring for one’s mind and body, and appreciating design and art around us,” Heli Jimenez, senior director of international marketing at Business Finland, said in a press statement. “Happiness can be found in moments of pure contentment you get when the setting is just right: on a bike ride in a forest with the perfect playlist on or enjoying a post-sauna sausage while cooling off on a beautiful summer evening,”
The World Happiness Report bases its annual rankings predominantly on data from the life evaluation question in the Gallup World Poll. In it, respondents are asked to rate their current lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best possible life for them and 0 being the worst possible life. The countries that made the top 10 this year ranged from Mexico’s 6.979 up to 7.736 for Finland at the top. Afghanistan had the lowest score at 1.364.
While these results are based entirely on self-reported perceptions of satisfaction, factors that the World Happiness Report says contribute to making these evaluations better in each country include a higher GDP per capita, a strong social support system, higher life expectancy, greater freedom, absence of government and corporate corruption, and charitable giving. Finland’s GDP per capita is not the highest—according to the World Bank, in 2023, it ranked 27th while the U.S. stood at 11th. However, Finland has universal and high-quality healthcare, social support, and education systems, and inequality is low.
Related: The Surprising Wellness Hack I Learned in the World’s Happiest Country
Denmark ranked second in the 2025 World Happiness Report.
Courtesy of Febiyan/Unsplash
The 30 happiest countries in the world in 2025
If you’re looking for inspiration for your upcoming travels and like the idea of traveling to a place where happiness is in ample supply, these are the 30 happiest countries in the world, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report.
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Lithuania
- Austria
- Canada
- Slovenia
- Czechia
- United Arab Emirates
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Belize
- Poland
- Taiwan
- Uruguay
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
Many of the factors examined by Gallup that contribute to happiness are out of our control. But there is one that’s easier to put into practice: Try to eat with other people. The report finds that “sharing meals has a strong impact on subjective well-being—on par with the influence of income and unemployment. Those who share more meals with others report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affect. This is true across ages, genders, countries, cultures, and regions.”
Can traveling to the happiest country in the world bring you greater joy?
Yes, if you bring home the mindset and activities that make people in that country happy, such as spending time in nature. Visit Finland, the country’s tourism office suggests seven ways to find happiness during your visit, including witnessing the northern lights. Start your happiness hunt in Helsinki with the capital’s Happiness Hacks, among them walking in a serene forest or dancing at a music festival.
For a dose of culture, visit Amos Rex, an impressive underground contemporary art museum lit by skylights, or take a break at Oodi, an energy-efficient public library at the center of the city designed to be the nation’s “living room.”
Beyond its cities, Finland has nature in spades including numerous islands, many of which make for an idyllic remote escape. And there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors year-round—Finns have a close relationship with nature and get outside even during the coldest months. For those who want to relax in the toastiest way—whether you go for an icy forest walk or not—warm up in one of the country’s more than 3 million saunas.
This article was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated on March 20, 2025, with current information. Lyndsey Matthews and Sophie Friedman contributed to the reporting of this story.
