The 20 Happiest Countries In The World In 2023
There’s no denying that Finland is a happy place. For the sixth year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world in the annual World Happiness Report, which ranks global happiness in more than 150 countries around the world.
Overseen by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the report is released every year in honor of the International Day of Happiness on March 20. The ranking of the countries is based on data from sources like the Gallup World Poll, leveraging six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption. This year’s list is similar to past rankings in 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, with many of the same Nordic countries in the top spots. As with 2022, Denmark once again comes in at number two, followed by Iceland at number three.
“The Nordic countries merit special attention in light of their generally high levels of both personal and institutional trust,” writes the authors of the report. “They also had COVID-19 death rates only one-third as high as elsewhere in Western Europe during 2020 and 2021—27 per 100,000 in the Nordic countries compared to 80 in the rest of Western Europe.” But Finland is the clear winner—by a long shot. “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,” the authors of the report say.
Six-year winning streak for world’s happiest nation
For the sixth year in a row, Finland is the world’s happiest country, according to World Happiness Report rankings based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll. The Nordic country and its neighbors Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway all score very well on the measures the report uses to explain its findings: healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, low corruption, generosity in a community where people look after each other and freedom to make key life decisions.
But since we can’t all move to Finland, is there something other societies can learn from these rankings? “Is it, are they doing things that we wish we’d seen before and we can start doing? Or is it something unique about their climate and history that make them different? And fortunately, at least from my perspective, the answer is the former,” said Helliwell, who is a professor emeritus at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia.
Taking a holistic view of the well-being of all the components of a society and its members makes for better life evaluations and happier countries. “The objective of every institution should be to contribute what it can to human well-being,” the report says, which includes accounting for future generations and preserving basic human rights. Israel moves up to No. 4 this year from its No. 9 ranking last year. The Netherlands (No. 5), Switzerland (No. 8), Luxembourg (No. 9) and New Zealand (No. 10) round out the top 10. Australia (No. 12), Canada (No. 13), Ireland (No. 14), the United States (No. 15) and the United Kingdom (No. 19) all made it into the top 20.
10 happiest countries in the world 2023
Finland has been voted the happiest place in the world for the sixth consecutive year, the World Happiness Report 2023 has found.
In order to uncover the happiest spots around the globe, researchers analysed six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Despite several overlapping crises, the study found that global life satisfaction is just as high as those in pre-pandemic years. Famous for its stunning landscapes and excellent quality of life, Finland remains in the top position thanks to its simple lifestyle, commitment to sustainability, deep connection to nature, and love for seasonal and local food. Denmark and Iceland came in second and third place, respectively, meanwhile Israel and the Netherlands rounded up the top five.
Elsewhere in the Happiness Report, the team found that various forms of everyday kindness — such as helping a stranger, donating to charity, and volunteering – are all above pre-pandemic levels. "Acts of kindness have been shown to both lead to and stem from greater happiness," said Lara Aknin, who worked on the study. The 2023 also looked at the available survey data from Ukraine. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve explains: "The devastating impact of the war is evident to all, and so we also find that well-being in Ukraine has taken a real hit. But what is surprising, however, is that wellbeing in Ukraine fell by less than it did in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. "And this is thanks in part to the extraordinary rise in fellow feeling across Ukraine as picked up in data on helping strangers and donations – the Russian invasion has forged Ukraine into a nation."
Happiest Countries in the World 2023
Singapore is at position #32
Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world's happiest countries. In its 2021 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 149 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. Interestingly enough, the top seven happiest countries in the world for 2021 were all Northern European countries. Finland took top honors—for the fourth year in a row—with an overall score of 7.842, followed (in order) by Denmark (7.620), Switzerland (7.571), Iceland (7.554), the Netherlands (7.464), Norway (7.392), and Sweden (7.363).
The least happy country in the world for 2021 was Afghanistan, whose 149th-place ranking of 2.523 can be attributed in part to a low life expectancy rate and low gross domestic product rates per capita. It's worthwhile to note that the report was released before the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, which will undoubtedly impact future scores in one way or another. Rounding out the bottom five are Zimbabwe (3.145), Rwanda (3.415), Botswana (3.467), and Lesotho (3.512). For the full list of all 149 countries and their rankings, scroll down to the table below. For more on the top seven—as well as an inspiring honorable mention—read on.
Ten Years After First International Day of Happiness, Measuring and Advancing Well-Being Seen as Priority
Finland remains in the top position for the sixth year in a row. Lithuania is the only new country in the top twenty, up more than 30 places since 2017. War-torn Afghanistan and Lebanon remain the two unhappiest countries in the survey, with average life evaluations more than five points lower (on a scale running from 0 to 10) than in the ten happiest countries.
Since the publication of the first World Happiness Report in 2012, there is a growing consensus that happiness can be promoted through public policies and the actions of business and civil society. Moreover, happiness and well-being can be usefully measured in a number of ways, including through surveys of people’s satisfaction with their lives. The World Happiness Report research leverages six key factors to help explain variation in self-reported levels of happiness across the world: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Governments are increasingly using this analysis to orient policies towards happiness. This year’s Happiness Report also shows that despite several overlapping crises, most populations around the world continue to be remarkably resilient, with global life satisfaction averages in the COVID-19 years 2020-2022 just as high as those in the pre-pandemic years.
The first International Day of Happiness was celebrated 10 years ago on 20 March 2013. Since then, people all over have recognized not only the importance of measuring happiness and well-being but have made gains to support public and private policies to help promote it. “The ultimate goal of politics and ethics should be human well-being,” said Jeffrey Sachs. “The happiness movement shows that well-being is not a ‘soft’ and ‘vague’ idea but rather focuses on areas of life of critical importance: material conditions, mental and physical wealth, personal virtues, and good citizenship. We need to turn this wisdom into practical results to achieve more peace, prosperity, trust, civility – and yes, happiness – in our societies.”
United Nations: International Day of Happiness 20 March 2023
What is the International Day of Happiness? It’s a day to be happy, of course! Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.
Happiness is a fundamental human goal. The United Nations General Assembly recognizes this goal and calls for “a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes the happiness and well-being of all peoples.” In 2015, the UN launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to end poverty, reduce inequality, and protect our planet – three key aspects that lead to well-being and happiness. The United Nations invites each person of any age, plus every classroom, business and government to join in celebration of the International Day of Happiness.
The General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 66/281 of 12 July 2012 proclaimed 20 March the International Day of Happiness, recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives. It also recognized the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples. The resolution was initiated by Bhutan, a country which recognized the value of national happiness over national income since the early 1970s and famously adopted the goal of Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product. It also hosted a High Level Meeting on "Happiness and Well-Being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm" during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
World Happiness Report
The 2023 World Happiness Report was a triannual analysis of 2020-2022, heavily influenced by COVID19 and other significant challenges. For the 6th consecutive year, Finland was ranked on top, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands. In the top-10 rankings Israel jumped 5 places, while Switzerland fell 4 places. Lithuania was the only new country in the top twenty.
The World Happiness Report is a publication that contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, which the report also correlates with various (quality of) life factors. As of March 2023, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world six times in a row. The report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative of the United Nations. The report primarily uses data from the Gallup World Poll. Each annual report is available to the public to download on the World Happiness Report website. The Editors of the 2020 report are John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve. Associate Editors are Lara Aknin, Shun Wang, and Haifang Huang.
In July 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 65/309 Happiness: Towards a Holistic Definition of Development inviting member countries to measure the happiness of their people and to use the data to help guide public policy. On April 2, 2012, this was followed by the first UN High Level Meeting called Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, which was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley of Bhutan, a nation that adopted gross national happiness instead of gross domestic product as their main development indicator. The first World Happiness Report was released on April 1, 2012 as a foundational text for the UN High Level Meeting: Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, drawing international attention. The first report outlined the state of world happiness, causes of happiness and misery, and policy implications highlighted by case studies. In 2013, the second World Happiness Report was issued, and in 2015 the third. Since 2016, it has been issued on an annual basis on the 20th of March, to coincide with the UN's International Day of Happiness.
The secret to happiness: these things will make you happier
According to the happiest country in the world, this will make you happier.
For six years in a row, Finland has held the top position when it comes to happiness. Finland is, according to the World Happiness Report, the happiest country in the world. But what is the secret to this happiness? Frank Martela, a Finnish philosopher and psychology researcher provides some insight into the factors that contribute to happiness. In an article he wrote for CNBC, he names three things that you should stop doing in order to become happier:
- Stop comparing yourself - The Finnish don’t compare themselves to others. In fact, there isn’t a whole lot to compare.
- Don’t ignore nature - The Finnish love nature. In a survey from 2021, it turned out that 87% of Finns view nature as an important part of their lives. Just because it gives them peace and causes them to relax. That is why a lot of Finnish people like to spend their vacation in nature.
- Don’t break trust - Another characteristic of the Finns is that they are very trustworthy. They trust one another and cherish honesty. This means that when you lose something valuable in Finland, the chances of getting it back are really high. And the Finns don’t just trust their friends and the people around them, they also trust their government, the police and their politicians. With that comes a feeling of responsibility. Everyone feels responsible for the general success of the country and a lot of people volunteer for volunteer organizations.
