Click here for the 2024 Update, released in March 2024.
Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world's happiest countries. In its 2023 update, the report concluded that Finland is the happiest country in the world. To determine the world's happiest country, researchers analyzed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 137 countries for the past three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.
In order to properly compare each country's data, the researchers created a fictional country—christened Dystopia—filled with "the world's least-happy people." They then set Dystopia as the rock bottom value in each of the six categories and measured the scores of the real-world countries against this value. All six variables were then blended to create a single combined score for each country. Finland continues to occupy the top spot, for the sixth year in a row, with a score that is significantly ahead of all other countries. Denmark remains in the 2nd spot, with a confidence region bounded by 2nd and 4th. Among the rest of the countries in the top twenty, the confidence regions for their ranks cover five to ten countries. Iceland is 3rd, and with its smaller sample size, has a confidence region from 2nd to 7th. Israel is in 4th position, up five positions from last year, with a confidence range between 2nd and 8th. The 5th through 8th positions are filled by the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. The top ten are rounded out by Luxembourg and New Zealand. Austria and Australia follow in 11th and 12th positions, as last year, both within the likely range of 8th to 16th. They are followed by Canada, up two places from last year’s lowest-ever ranking. The next four positions are filled by Ireland, the United States, Germany, and Belgium, all with ranks securely in the top twenty, as shown by the rank ranges. Click here for this Happiness report.
Note there are 60 countries missing, many of the missing countries are small, young, or chose not to participate: 1. Andorra, 2. Angola, 3. Antigua & Barbuda, 4. Azerbaijan, 5. Bahamas, 6. Barbados, 7. Belarus, 8. Belize, 9. Bhutan, 10. Brunei, 11. Burundi, 12. Cabo Verde, 13. Central African Republic, 14. Cuba, 15. Djibouti, 16. Dominica, 17. Equatorial Guinea, 18. Eritrea, 19. Eswatini (Swaziland), 20. Fiji, 21. Grenada, 22. Guinea-Bissau, 23. Guyana, 24. Haiti, 25. Kiribati, 26. Kuwait, 27. Lesotho, 28. Libya, 29. Liechtenstein, 30. Maldives, 31. Marshall Islands, 32. Micronesia, 33. Monaco, 34. Nauru, 35. North Korea, 36. Oman, 37. Palau, 38. Papua New Guinea, 39. Qatar, 40. Rwanda, 41. Saint Kitts and Nevis, 42. Saint Lucia, 43. Saint Vincent and Grenadines, 44. Samoa, 45. San Marino, 46. Sao Tome and Principe, 47. Seychelles, 48. Solomon Islands, 49. Somalia, 50. South Sudan, 51. Sudan, 52. Suriname, 53. Syria, 54. Timor-Leste, 55. Tonga, 56. Trinidad and Tobago, 57. Turkmenistan, 58. Tuvalu, 59. Vanuatu, 60. Yemen.
Four countries are extra members: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kosovo, and State of Palestine.
UN has 193 members so, less 60, plus 4 equals 137 on list.
Click a column heading, e.g. "Country", to sort. Click REFRESH to restore original layout.
| Rank ▲▼ | Country | Happiness 2023 | Happiness 2022 | Happiness 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 7.804 | 7.821 | 7.842 |
| 2 | Denmark | 7.586 | 7.636 | 7.620 |
| 3 | Iceland | 7.530 | 7.557 | 7.554 |
| 4 | Israel | 7.473 | 7.364 | 7.157 |
| 5 | Netherlands | 7.403 | 7.415 | 7.464 |
| 6 | Sweden | 7.395 | 7.384 | 7.363 |
| 7 | Norway | 7.315 | 7.365 | 7.392 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 7.240 | 7.512 | 7.571 |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 7.228 | 7.404 | 7.324 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 7.123 | 7.200 | 7.277 |
| 11 | Austria | 7.097 | 7.163 | 7.268 |
| 12 | Australia | 7.095 | 7.162 | 7.183 |
| 13 | Canada | 6.961 | 7.025 | 7.103 |
| 14 | Ireland | 6.911 | 7.041 | 7.085 |
| 15 | United States | 6.894 | 6.977 | 6.951 |
| 16 | Germany | 6.892 | 7.034 | 7.155 |
| 17 | Belgium | 6.859 | 6.805 | 6.834 |
| 18 | Czechia | 6.845 | 6.920 | 6.965 |
| 19 | United Kingdom | 6.796 | 6.943 | 7.064 |
| 20 | Lithuania | 6.763 | 6.446 | 6.255 |
| 21 | France | 6.661 | 6.687 | 6.690 |
| 22 | Slovenia | 6.650 | 6.630 | 6.461 |
| 23 | Costa Rica | 6.609 | 6.582 | 7.069 |
| 24 | Romania | 6.589 | 6.477 | 6.140 |
| 25 | Singapore | 6.587 | 6.480 | 6.377 |
| 26 | United Arab Emirates | 6.571 | 6.576 | 6.561 |
| 27 | Taiwan Province of China | 6.535 | 6.512 | 6.584 |
| 28 | Uruguay | 6.494 | 6.474 | 6.431 |
| 29 | Slovakia | 6.469 | 6.391 | 6.331 |
| 30 | Saudi Arabia | 6.463 | 6.523 | 6.494 |
| 31 | Estonia | 6.455 | 6.341 | 6.189 |
| 32 | Spain | 6.436 | 6.476 | 6.491 |
| 33 | Italy | 6.405 | 6.467 | 6.483 |
| 34 | Kosovo | 6.368 | 6.455 | 0.000 |
| 35 | Chile | 6.334 | 6.172 | 6.172 |
| 36 | Mexico | 6.330 | 6.128 | 6.317 |
| 37 | Malta | 6.300 | 6.447 | 6.602 |
| 38 | Panama | 6.265 | 6.309 | 6.180 |
| 39 | Poland | 6.260 | 6.123 | 6.166 |
| 40 | Nicaragua | 6.259 | 6.165 | 5.972 |
| 41 | Latvia | 6.213 | 6.180 | 6.032 |
| 42 | Bahrain | 6.173 | 6.647 | 6.647 |
| 43 | Guatemala | 6.150 | 6.262 | 6.435 |
| 44 | Kazakhstan | 6.144 | 6.234 | 6.152 |
| 45 | Serbia | 6.144 | 6.178 | 6.078 |
| 46 | Cyprus | 6.130 | 6.221 | 6.223 |
| 47 | Japan | 6.129 | 6.039 | 5.940 |
| 48 | Croatia | 6.125 | 6.125 | 5.882 |
| 49 | Brazil | 6.125 | 6.293 | 6.330 |
| 50 | El Salvador | 6.122 | 6.120 | 6.061 |
| 51 | Hungary | 6.041 | 6.086 | 5.992 |
| 52 | Argentina | 6.024 | 5.967 | 5.929 |
| 53 | Honduras | 6.023 | 6.022 | 5.919 |
| 54 | Uzbekistan | 6.014 | 6.063 | 6.179 |
| 55 | Malaysia | 6.012 | 5.711 | 5.384 |
| 56 | Portugal | 5.968 | 6.016 | 5.929 |
| 57 | South Korea | 5.951 | 5.935 | 5.845 |
| 58 | Greece | 5.931 | 5.948 | 5.723 |
| 59 | Mauritius | 5.902 | 6.071 | 6.049 |
| 60 | Thailand | 5.843 | 5.891 | 5.985 |
| 61 | Mongolia | 5.840 | 5.761 | 5.677 |
| 62 | Kyrgyzstan | 5.825 | 5.828 | 5.744 |
| 63 | Moldova | 5.819 | 5.857 | 5.766 |
| 64 | China | 5.818 | 5.585 | 5.339 |
| 65 | Vietnam | 5.763 | 5.485 | 5.411 |
| 66 | Paraguay | 5.738 | 5.578 | 5.653 |
| 67 | Montenegro | 5.722 | 5.547 | 5.581 |
| 68 | Jamaica | 5.703 | 5.850 | 6.309 |
| 69 | Bolivia | 5.684 | 5.600 | 5.716 |
| 70 | Russia | 5.661 | 5.459 | 5.477 |
| 71 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.633 | 5.768 | 5.813 |
| 72 | Colombia | 5.630 | 5.781 | 6.012 |
| 73 | Dominican Republic | 5.569 | 5.737 | 5.545 |
| 74 | Ecuador | 5.559 | 5.533 | 5.764 |
| 75 | Peru | 5.526 | 5.559 | 5.840 |
| 76 | Philippines | 5.523 | 5.904 | 5.880 |
| 77 | Bulgaria | 5.466 | 5.371 | 5.266 |
| 78 | Nepal | 5.360 | 5.377 | 5.269 |
| 79 | Armenia | 5.342 | 5.399 | 5.283 |
| 80 | Tajikistan | 5.330 | 5.377 | 5.466 |
| 81 | Algeria | 5.329 | 5.122 | 4.887 |
| 82 | Hong Kong S.A.R. of China | 5.308 | 5.425 | 5.477 |
| 83 | Albania | 5.277 | 5.199 | 5.117 |
| 84 | Indonesia | 5.277 | 5.240 | 5.345 |
| 85 | South Africa | 5.275 | 5.194 | 4.956 |
| 86 | Congo (Brazzaville) | 5.267 | 5.075 | 5.342 |
| 87 | North Macedonia | 5.254 | 5.199 | 5.101 |
| 88 | Venezuela | 5.211 | 4.925 | 4.892 |
| 89 | Laos | 5.111 | 5.140 | 5.030 |
| 90 | Georgia | 5.109 | 4.973 | 4.891 |
| 91 | Guinea | 5.072 | 4.891 | 4.984 |
| 92 | Ukraine | 5.071 | 5.084 | 4.875 |
| 93 | Ivory Coast | 5.053 | 5.235 | 5.306 |
| 94 | Gabon | 5.035 | 4.958 | 4.852 |
| 95 | Nigeria | 4.981 | 4.552 | 4.759 |
| 96 | Cameroon | 4.973 | 5.048 | 5.142 |
| 97 | Mozambique | 4.954 | 5.048 | 4.794 |
| 98 | Iraq | 4.941 | 4.941 | 4.854 |
| 99 | State of Palestine | 4.908 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 100 | Morocco | 4.903 | 5.060 | 4.918 |
| 101 | Iran | 4.876 | 4.888 | 4.721 |
| 102 | Senegal | 4.855 | 5.046 | 5.132 |
| 103 | Mauritania | 4.724 | 4.153 | 4.227 |
| 104 | Burkina Faso | 4.638 | 4.670 | 4.834 |
| 105 | Namibia | 4.631 | 4.459 | 4.574 |
| 106 | Turkiye | 4.614 | 4.744 | 4.948 |
| 107 | Ghana | 4.605 | 4.872 | 5.088 |
| 108 | Pakistan | 4.555 | 4.516 | 4.934 |
| 109 | Niger | 4.501 | 5.003 | 5.074 |
| 110 | Tunisia | 4.497 | 4.516 | 4.596 |
| 111 | Kenya | 4.487 | 4.543 | 4.607 |
| 112 | Sri Lanka | 4.442 | 4.362 | 4.325 |
| 113 | Uganda | 4.432 | 4.603 | 4.636 |
| 114 | Chad | 4.397 | 4.251 | 4.355 |
| 115 | Cambodia | 4.393 | 4.640 | 4.830 |
| 116 | Benin | 4.374 | 4.623 | 5.045 |
| 117 | Myanmar | 4.372 | 4.394 | 4.426 |
| 118 | Bangladesh | 4.282 | 5.155 | 5.025 |
| 119 | Gambia | 4.279 | 5.164 | 5.051 |
| 120 | Mali | 4.198 | 4.479 | 4.723 |
| 121 | Egypt | 4.170 | 4.288 | 4.283 |
| 122 | Togo | 4.137 | 4.112 | 4.107 |
| 123 | Jordan | 4.120 | 4.152 | 4.395 |
| 124 | Ethiopia | 4.091 | 4.241 | 4.275 |
| 125 | Liberia | 4.042 | 5.122 | 4.625 |
| 126 | India | 4.036 | 3.777 | 3.819 |
| 127 | Madagascar | 4.019 | 4.339 | 4.208 |
| 128 | Zambia | 3.982 | 3.760 | 4.073 |
| 129 | Tanzania | 3.694 | 3.702 | 3.623 |
| 130 | Comoros | 3.545 | 4.609 | 4.289 |
| 131 | Malawi | 3.495 | 3.750 | 3.600 |
| 132 | Botswana | 3.435 | 3.471 | 3.467 |
| 133 | Congo (Kinshasa) | 3.207 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 134 | Zimbabwe | 3.204 | 2.995 | 3.145 |
| 135 | Sierra Leone | 3.138 | 3.574 | 3.849 |
| 136 | Lebanon | 2.392 | 2.955 | 4.584 |
| 137 | Afghanistan | 1.859 | 2.404 | 2.523 |
** End of List