For the eighth year in a row, Finland has taken the No. 1 spot on the World Happiness Report’s list of the happiest countries. Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also made the top 10.
The Nordic countries dominating this list shouldn’t come as a surprise, says Ilana Ron Levey, managing director at Gallup. There is stability in countries that provide for their residents.
“Finland is an extraordinary outlier and I think the world is really focused on understanding what is unique about Finland,” she says. She cites “a belief in others,” optimism for the future, trust in institutions, and support from friends and family as reasons why Finnish people are happier than most.
“I think another important point about Finland is that there is less well-being inequality within the country as compared to a country like the United States,” Ron Levey says. “In Finland, there’s more of a consensus about feeling good about your life.”
The World Happiness Report ranked countries according to self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022-2024 and answers to the Cantril ladder question in the Gallup World Poll. It asks respondents to think of a ladder with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst being a zero. They are then asked to rate their current lives on that scale.
The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, which publishes the report, says that in addition to the Cantril ladder question, the report also considers the following six variables in the more than 130 countries ranked in the report:
- GDP per capita
- Social Support
- Healthy life expectancy
- Freedom
- Generosity
- Freedom of corruption
Ron Levey thinks there is one other thing other countries can learn from Finland: the importance of benevolent acts.
“Good deeds also boost the happiness of the giver, and it’s not just about the recipient,” she says.
