“Is everybody happy?” was a catchphrase made famous by the 1920s entertainer Ted Lewis. The answer to that question today, of course (and probably was then, too), is a resounding “NO.” Not everybody is happy. All over the world, people are suffering from war, crime, hunger, abuse, and more. But all over the world, too, there are people who are more than content with their lives, for various reasons.
Can happiness be measured? The World Happiness Report thinks so. Originally published by a United Nations initiative called the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, but as of this year issued by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the report bases rankings of the world’s happiest countries on “life evaluations, as the more stable measure of the quality of people’s lives.”
The main source of data for the report is the Gallup World Poll, which, according to the report, “asks respondents to evaluate their current life as a whole using the image of a ladder, with the best possible life for them as a 10 and worst possible as a 0. Each respondent provides a numerical response on this scale….”
Specific metrics include log GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption.
About a thousand responses are recorded for each of 143 countries around the world every year, with results weighted to attain population-representative national averages. The overall happiness scores are based on a three-year average of the life evaluations.
The 2024 edition of the report — which uses data from 2021 through 2023 — was issued today, March 20, which has been designated the International Day of Happiness by the UN.
Happiness ranks vary according to age group. The list below is based on responses from “the young,” which the report defines as those under 30. Interestingly, the scores for older respondents (over 60) place five Nordic countries at the top of the list — Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, in descending order. The young favor Lithuanian most of all, with Israel and Serbia at No. 2 and No. 3, rspectively — and then Iceland followed by Denmark. (Compare this list of the 18 countries most people would move to if they had the chance.)
It might also be noted that the United States comes in at No. 10 with the older set — but No. 62 among those under 30.
50. Montenegro
Overall Score: 4.674
49. Guatemala
Overall Score: 6.548
48. France
Overall Score: 6.561
47. Germany
Overall Score: 6.578
46. Portugal
N/A
Overall Score: 6.588
45. Thailand
Overall Score: 6.597
44. Estonia
Overall Score: 6.599
43. Poland
Old Town in Krakow, Poland
Overall Score: 6.605
42. Saudi Arabia
Overall Score: 6.617
41. Italy
Overall Score: 6.618
40. Bulgaria
Overall Score: 6.621
39. Chile
Overall Score: 6.662
38. Slovakia
Overall Score: 6.674
37. Paraguay
Overall Score: 6.715
36. Hungary
Overall Score: 6.720
35. United Arab Emirates
Overall Score: 6.732
34. Argentina
Overall Score: 6.746
33. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Overall Score: 6.746
32. United Kingdom
Overall Score: 6.754
31. Latvia
Overall Score: 6.766
30. Uruguay
Overall Score: 6.775
29. Moldova
Overall Score: 6.786
28. Nicaragua
Overall Score: 6.789
27. New Zealand
Overall Score: 6.859
26. Panama
Overall Score: 6.883
25. Taiwan
Overall Score: 6.908
24. Belgium
Overall Score: 6.947
23. Kosovo
Overall Score: 6.949
22. Mexico
Overall Score: 6.954
21. Ireland
Overall Score: 6.954
20. Norway
Overall Score: 6.995
19. Australia
Overall Score: 7.013
18. Sweden
Overall Score: 7.026
17. El Salvador
Overall Score: 7.057
16. Kuwait
Overall Score: 7.104
15. Slovenia
Overall Score: 7.111
14. Croatia
Overall Score: 7.116
13. Switzerland
Overall Score: 7.138
12. Austria
Overall Score: 7.142
11. Costa Rica
Overall Score: 7.150
10. Czechia
Overall Score: 7.198
9. Netherlands
Overall Score: 7.248
8. Romania
Overall Score: 7.284
7. Finland
Overall Score: 7.300
6. Luxembourg
Overall Score: 7.301
5. Denmark
Overall Score: 7.329
4. Iceland
Overall Score: 7.598
3. Serbia
Overall Score: 7.658
2. Israel
Overall Score: 7.667
1. Lithuania
Overall Score: 7.759