Finland led the annual ranking of the happiest countries in the world, compiled by the “Network of Solutions for Sustainable Development of the United Nations”. It is followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the Netherlands. About this it is said у World Happiness Report 2025.
In addition to these countries, the top ten happiest include Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg and Mexico. In the rating, Ukraine fell by several positions and took 111th place. The last step is occupied by Afghanistan. The report was compiled on the basis of surveys of residents of 147 countries.
The assessment of countries in the ranking is based on the average indicator of the quality of life, which is determined by different groups of the population over three years. Next, experts from various fields—economics, psychology, sociology, and more—analyze differences between countries and their changes over time, taking into account factors such as GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, availability of support, sense of freedom, level of generosity and perception of corruption.
These indicators help to better understand the differences between countries, but the ranking itself is based solely on how people evaluate their own lives. The study found that belief in the goodness of others has a much stronger relationship with feelings of happiness than previously thought.
“This year’s report challenges us to look beyond traditional factors such as health and wealth. It turns out that sharing meals and trusting others are even stronger predictors of well-being than expected. In this era of social isolation and political polarization, we need to find ways to bring people back to the table — this is critical to our individual and collective well-being.” explained Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre.
According to the researchers, the biggest changes in the long term are observed not between states, but within the countries themselves.
“Over the past 20 years, the level of inequality in happiness within countries has increased by about a quarter, while the difference in happiness between countries has remained almost unchanged.” — scientists note.
