A fascinating chart shows how the world’s happiest countries have changed over time, except for the top spot.
Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, was today named the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row.
This means that all five Scandinavian countries have ranked among the 10 richest places in the world over the past decade, despite their long, cold and dark winters.
Afghanistan, meanwhile – for the fifth consecutive year – remains at the bottom of the ranking. World Happiness Reporta global ranking of more than 140 countries.
Separate figures released today also show Lithuania has the happiest under-30s.
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Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row, according to an annual ranking sponsored by the United Nations. In the photo, Helsinki
War-scarred Afghanistan remains the unhappiest country in the survey of more than 140 countries, retaining last place. Pictured is Mazar-e Sharif, provincial capital of Balkh Province, Afghanistan
This UN-sponsored report, now in its 12th year, draws on assessments of the happiness of tens of thousands of people, as well as economic and social data.
It gives a happiness score on a scale of zero to 10, based on an average score over a three-year period.
The rankings are loosely correlated with a country’s prosperity, but other factors such as life expectancy, social ties, personal freedom and corruption also appear to influence responses.
The UK and US rankings fell in 2024. However, Britain has remained among the top 20 happiest nations for all but two years of the past decade.
From average salary to life expectancy: facts about Finland
Aerial view of Helsinki, capital of Finland
Population: 5.5 million
Life expectancy: 82 (80.7 UK, 77.2 US)
Average salary: 39,768 euros (£34,813, $42,622)
Average hours worked per year: 1,635 (1,742 in the US, 1,673 in the UK)
Acute care beds per 1,000 people: 2.8 (2.4 in the US, 2.1 in the UK)
Child mortality rate: 0.23% (0.63% in the United States, 0.42% in the United Kingdom)
Overweight and obesity: 57.9% (67.9% in the United States, 63.7% in the United Kingdom)
Share of population suffering from anxiety disorders: 4.39% (6.16% in the United States, 4.39% in the United Kingdom)
It ranked highest in 2020, at 13th.
Conversely, Togo was consistently among the bottom 20 countries over the past decade.
Other countries frequently ranked in the bottom 20 include Egypt, Haiti, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
In the new UN 2024 report, Finland scored 7.74 out of 10, while Afghanistan scored 1.72. For comparison, Britain’s was 6.72.
The United States’ score was slightly lower, seeing it fall out of the top 20 since the report began in 2012.
Despite several overlapping global crises between 2021 and 2023, including Covid and the war in Ukraine, most countries recorded global life satisfaction scores just as high as those in pre-pandemic years, found Researchers.
Across generations, analysts have found that people born before 1965 are generally happier than those born after 1980.
Britain ranks 32nd for “young people” – those aged 30 and under – and 27th for “young middle-aged”, aged 30 to 44.
Among “middle-aged people”, 45-59 years old, it occupies 19th place, with 20th reserved for “old people”, that is to say those aged 60 and over.
Meanwhile, the United States ranks 62nd in happiness among young people. Among those over 60, he comes 10th.
It scored 42nd among young middle-aged people and 17th among older middle-aged people.
This is one of the largest gaps in rankings between age groups, with the country recording a gap of more than 50 places between ‘young’ and ‘old’.
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Canada, too, saw a 50-point gap, with those over 60 coming in 8th place for happiness, while those under 30 only came in 58th.
Experts said the data showed a worrying trend that young people in Western Europe and North America are experiencing the equivalent of a “mid-life crisis”.
Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, an expert in economics and behavioral sciences at the University of Oxford and editor of the report, said: “By bringing together the available data on the well-being of children and adolescents in around the world, we have documented disconcerting declines, particularly in the North. America and Western Europe.
“The thought that, in some parts of the world, children are already experiencing the equivalent of a mid-life crisis demands immediate policy action.”
Lithuania (19th overall) had the happiest young people in the 2024 world rankings, while Denmark (2nd overall) took first place among the over-60s.
Croatia had the largest gap between the two age groups, with the young people’s ranking (14th) being 66 places higher than the old people’s (80th).
The report – released to mark the International Day of Happiness – is based on self-reported data from respondents in each country.
Participants are asked to rate their life out of 10, and then an average score for the country is calculated based on the ratings received over the past three years.