March 21, 2025, 8:59 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The World Happiness Report has been published for the thirteenth time and provides a comprehensive overview of where people in the world are happiest with their lives. The Scandinavian countries once again lead the rankings this year. Although Germany has improved by two positions compared to the previous year, it still performs shockingly poorly. TRAVELBOOK presents the World Happiness Report 2025.
The war in Ukraine, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and America under Trump’s leadership are ever-present concerns that continue to weigh heavily on people’s minds. Nevertheless, the world remains resilient, as the World Happiness Report 2025 shows. Particularly at the top of the ranking, consistency reigns: Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for an impressive eighth consecutive year. Its surrounding neighbors also rank high on the list, with Denmark and Iceland continuing to occupy second and third place in the rank of happiest countries.
Meanwhile, Germany has yet again missed the mark for the top ten, landing at 22nd place — an improvement of two spots from the previous year. Unchanged at the bottom, war-torn Afghanistan continues to be the unhappiest country in the world.
The World Happiness Report is published every year by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report delves into the life satisfaction of individuals across various countries. The result is a list of the happiest to the unhappiest countries in the world.
These Are the 10 Happiest Countries in the World
- Finland (7,736)
- Denmark (7.521)
- Iceland (7.515)
- Sweden (7.345)
- Netherlands (7,306)
- Costa Rica (7.247)
- Norway (7.262)
- Israel (7,234)
- Luxembourg (7,122)
- Mexico (6.979)
*In brackets: the average life rating on a scale of 0 to 10.
Finland, the frontrunner, along with its Northern European neighbors, excels in key factors contributing to greater satisfaction, including income, health, and the freedom to make personal life choices, as highlighted in the happiness report.
Why Are Finns So Happy?
The reports suggest that the Finns’ happiness stems chiefly from a deep-seated mutual trust among citizens and in their institutions, including the authorities, police, and judicial system. Furthermore, the inhabitants of Finland have a certain basic satisfaction. The country is safe and stable. Corruption is very low in Finland, and the country is also socially progressive. Individuals in Finland enjoy the liberty to make life decisions with a sense of security and support.
These are the unhappiest countries in the world
138th Lesotho (3,757)
139th Comoros (3,754)
140. Yemen (3,561)
141. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.469)
142 Botswana (3.438)
143. Zimbabwe (3.396)
144 Malawi (3,260)
145 Lebanon (3.188)
146. Sierra Leone (2,998)
147. Afghanistan (1,364)
*In brackets: the average life rating on a scale from 0 to 10.
With Afghanistan firmly under Taliban control once more, it continues to anchor the list as the world’s unhappiest country, with Sierra Leone and Lebanon trailing close behind.
What Is the World Happiness Report Based On?
The World Happiness Report 2025 draws on a range of factors that are believed to influence happiness, according to the index. The factors include social support, income, high life expectancy, freedom, generosity, no corruption, and trust in state institutions. In addition, the average life evaluation, a value for subjective well-being, was surveyed according to the so-called “ladder system.” Respondents were asked to answer the following question: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top rung of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom rung represents the worst possible life for you. Which rung of the ladder would you say you personally are on at the moment?” A mean value was calculated for each country for the study.
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