THE world’s happiest nations of 2025 have been revealed, with the common winner in first place regardless of being famend for its darkness and chilly.
In the meantime each the UK and the US dramatically dropped down the listing to twenty third and twenty fourth respectively – the bottom they’ve ever positioned within the rating.

Finland has taken the crown because the happiest nation on the planet for the eighth yr in a row.
Nation rankings have been based mostly on solutions residents gave when requested to fee their very own lives.
Fellow Nordic nations like Denmark and Iceland are additionally on the prime of the happiness rankings revealed by the Wellbeing Analysis Centre on the College of Oxford.
However it’s been dangerous information for the UK, because it fell a whopping three locations within the desk – from twentieth final yr to twenty third.
HAPPY FINLAND
Regardless of Finland being famend for its darkness and sub-zero temperatures for round half of the yr, residents produce other causes to really feel good each day.
These causes might embrace the truth that healthcare is publicly funded, air high quality meets World Well being Organisation requirements and the EU Gender Equality Index are larger than the European common.
Like Aino Virolainen, a digital commerce director, has lived overseas however at all times needs to return residence to Finland.
She mentioned: “That is the place I at all times wish to come again to and the place I wish to, you realize, develop my children and develop outdated myself.
“And I believe its as a result of, you realize, the peace and the quietness and the trustworthiness.
“You already know, how we communicate instantly and the character, in fact. Its clear and the air is contemporary and whats there to not love?”
SHOCKING LIST
While European nations dominate the highest 20, there have been some surprising exceptions.
With decreases in happiness or rising unhappiness, the US took the crown, dropping to its lowest-ever place at 24.
Compared, in 2012, America peaked at eleventh place.
The report additionally sadly states that the variety of individuals eating alone within the US has elevated a whopping 53 per cent over the previous twenty years.
The UK, at place 23, is reporting its lowest common life analysis because the 2017 report.
In the meantime, regardless of the struggle with Hamas, Israel got here eighth within the listing.
Costa Rica and Mexico broke via into the highest ten for the primary time, rating at sixth and tenth respectively.
Within the backside a part of the listing sits Sierra Leone in west Africa, which is the second unhappiest nation on the planet.
Finland’s enchantment
By Hope Brotherton, Journey Reporter
From its blindingly white landscapes in Lapland to its Lake District with hills and forest, it is easy to see why Finland routinely tops lists because the world’s happiest nation.
For bucket-list breaks, head to Rovaniemi, Lapland’s capital. The northern metropolis has its very personal Santa Claus Village the place the Christmas spirit is saved alive all year long. It is a really perfect base for winter actions like reindeer safaris and husky rides. Nonetheless, recognizing the Northern Lights dancing within the sky above town needed to be the spotlight of my most up-to-date journey.
Winter sports activities lovers will wish to head additional north to Finnish ski resorts like Ylläs – the real Lappish villages with their wood lodges, snow-covered pine bushes and cross-country snowboarding trails will immediately make you obsessive about Finland. It definitely did for me.
Whereas Finland is broadly considered a winter vacation spot, do not dismiss a summertime go to. Should you’re a eager hiker, or identical to the nice outside, head to Finland’s reply to the Lake District.
Cease in Kuopio if you would like one foot within the nation’s nature whereas nonetheless having all the advantages of being in a metropolis.
Moomin followers ought to make a beeline for Tampere, which is residence to the one museum based mostly on the youngsters’s characters. The museum takes guests via the lifetime of the Moomin creator Tove Jansson, with interactive shows studying excerpts from the books.
Helsinki, the nation’s capital, is someplace, like most European capitals, you possibly can go to all year long – though I might advocate visiting in the summertime as a result of it is quite a bit simpler to discover when temperatures aren’t sitting at -16C.
Soar on a ferry from Helsinki to Suomenlinna, a sea fortress that dates again centuries. The island fortress has winding trails and quaint cafes.
And in case your beige journey flag is exploring international supermarkets, I might advocate sampling a bar or two of Karl Fazer (mouth-watering milk chocolate) and a can of Lengthy Drink (a gin mixer).
And rating third from the underside is Lebanon.
However proper on the backside for one more yr in a row is Afghanistan, with Afghan girls saying how their lives are particularly troublesome.
BIZARRE FINDINGS
Researchers say that past well being and wealth, some elements that affect happiness sound deceptively easy.
These vary from sharing meals with others, having somebody to depend on for social help, in addition to family dimension.
Like in Mexico and Europe, a family dimension of 4 to 5 individuals predicts the very best ranges of happiness, in line with the research.
And believing within the kindness of others can be nearer tied to happiness than beforehand imagined.
One key spotlight within the research is that individuals who assume that others are prepared to return their misplaced pockets is a gargantuan predictor of the general happiness of the entire inhabitants.
However sadly, individuals are extra pessimistic concerning the kindness of their communities, with regards to the perceived and precise return of misplaced wallets.
That is seen via the truth that precise charges of pockets return are round twice as excessive as individuals anticipate.
2025 World Happiness Report rankings

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