Every year, a Gallup World Poll gathers data in a number of different areas to assess what the happiest countries in the world are. The World Happiness Report is back for its 2024 edition and there have been some changes in the top 10, even if the top spot hasn’t changed now in six editions.
General happiness is, of course, a tricky metric to accurately measure. The World Happiness Report, though, does so by assigning a score to each nation polled using data gathered on life evaluation.
Those polled are asked to fill out a Cantril ladder survey, giving scores of their lives on a scale of zero to 10 – zero being worst and 10 being best. Around 1,000 survey responses are used for each country.
To collect a country’s individual score, known as the Average Life Evaluation, the Happiness Report takes an average of the numbers given by those surveyed in each nation across the last three years.
Of the nations polled, Afghanistan once again has been dubbed the unhappiest country in the world, with a score of 1.721. The UK, meanwhile, ranks as the 20th happiest country with a score of 6.749 and the US is 23rd with a score of 6.725. But which country is the happiest overall?
10. Australia
Australia is the tenth-happiest country in the world in 2024 according to the World Happiness Report and was given a score of 7.057. In 2023, this position was held by New Zealand, which has dropped down a place to 11th.
9. Switzerland
Switzerland is ranked ninth place in the World Happiness Report in 2024 with a score of 7.060. In 2022, the country was ranked fourth.
Another landlocked country after Luxembourg, Switzerland is famous for its mountains, ski resorts, chocolate, and banks. The neutral nation has four national languages, too: German French, Italian, and Romansh.
8. Luxembourg
The eighth-happiest country in the world in 2024 is Luxembourg, with a World Happiness Report score of 7.122. The small European nation was ranked as high as sixth in 2022 so it has dropped three places this year.
Luxembourg is landlocked and borders Germany, Belgium, and France, sandwiched in the middle of the three. The tiny country has a population of just 655,112 people (UN) and is the smallest on this list in terms of total area – just 2,586km2 squared.
7. Norway
The seventh-happiest country in the world in 2024 is Norway, with a score of 7.302.
Norway is the first of the Scandinavian nations to be mentioned in this list – all of them are here – and shares a long border with Sweden. It’s famous for its fjords and northern lights and is a popular tourist destination for both.
6. Netherlands
The sixth-happiest country in the world is the Netherlands, with a score of 7.319 given by the World Happiness Report.
Famous for its windmills, clogs and multi-coloured poppies, the Netherlands is also home to the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court – both found in The Hague.
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5. Israel
Israel is the fifth-happiest country in the world in 2023, with a score of 7.344. Perhaps the most surprising country in this top 10, Israel faces many diplomatic issues and marks just one of two nations outside of Europe in the list.
4. Sweden
Sweden is the fourth-happiest country on Earth with a World Happiness Report score of 7.395.
The country that gave the world ABBA, Ikea, and many a great metal band is also known for its many forests and lakes. There are said to be nearly 100,000 lakes in the Scandinavian nation and it’s claimed that around 70 per cent of its land area is covered in forest/woods.
3. Iceland
The third-happiest country in the world in 2023 is Iceland according to the World Happiness Report, awarding the nation a score of 7.525. This is the second year in a row that Iceland has been given third place.
Iceland is the smallest country in this list by population, with just 375,436 living on the island nation. The country is famous for its geysers and volcanic eruptions and gave the world musician Björk.
2. Denmark
Denmark is the second-happiest country on Earth, with the World Happiness Report applying a score of 7.583. This is the fifth year in a row that Denmark has been dubbed the second-happiest country in the world.
Yet another Scandinavian country in the top ten happiest on Earth, Denmark was a founding member of many of the world’s most important organisations: NATO, the UN, Nordic Council, OECD, and OSCE.
1. Finland
Finland is the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2024. This is the seventh year in a row that Finland has been named the happiest country on Earth.
In the report, Finland achieved an overall score of 7.741. Finland is known as the home of Santa Claus, reindeer, and its love of saunas is world-renowned. Around 74 per cent of Finland is covered by forest.
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