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World Happiness Report published to mark International Day of Happiness

Published

The World Happiness Report, edited by Oxford Saïd Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, ranks 156 countries according to how happy they are

  • Finland ranks No 1 for the 5th year running
  • UK rises one place from 18 to 17
  • Stress and worry have risen globally during the pandemic
  • Kind behaviours rose by a quarter globally during the pandemic

The rankings reflect self-reported wellbeing, which is measured by questions asked in the Gallup world poll covering quality of life and wellbeing. The results tend to be predicted by six factors that contribute to whether people view their lives positively. These are GDP, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.

The top 10 happiest countries are 1. Finland 2. Denmark 3. Iceland 4. Switzerland 5. Netherlands 6. Luxembourg 7. Sweden 8. Norway 9. Israel 10. New Zealand.

The Nordic countries score highly every year. They have high trust and social cohesion, an excellent work-life balance and free education and healthcare.

The report found a significant increase in three prosocial behaviours; donating money to good causes, helping strangers, and doing voluntary work. The global average of these three measures went up by a quarter in 2021 compared to before the pandemic, indicating a significant upsurge in acts of kindness.

The pandemic has had a tangible impact on people's lives and happiness.

Dr Mark Williamson

CEO of Action for Happiness

The charity Action for Happiness coordinates the International Day of Happiness celebrations for the UK. This year, the UK theme is ‘Choose to Help’.

Dr Mark Williamson, CEO of Action for Happiness, said “The pandemic has had a tangible impact on people's lives and happiness. As we face further crises like war, climate change and rises in the cost of living, now is the time for governments to be bold and make policy decisions that support the wellbeing and happiness of citizens above all else. The happiest countries on the list prioritise trust, social support, stability and freedom, the UK should take note.

The good news is kind behaviours rose significantly during the pandemic. Acts of kindness and generosity can help us cope in difficult times by giving us a sense of purpose, something practical to focus on and showing the strength of the human spirit. We can build good mental health by taking positive action to help others.”

This presents a stark and timely reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science

As well as inspiring acts of altruism, the pandemic caused a lot of unhappiness. Happiness fell most in countries that experienced high rates of Covid-19 and those that faced the harshest restrictions on freedom during the pandemic. There has been a long-term moderate upward trend in stress, worry and sadness in most countries. Stress and worry were up by 8% in 2020 and 4% in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Military conflict and poverty remain two significant factors correlated to low levels of wellbeing. The country rankings clearly show peace and prosperity remain vital for people’s wellbeing and happiness.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science, said: “At the very bottom of the ranking we find societies that suffer from conflict and extreme poverty, notably we find that people in Afghanistan evaluate the quality of their own lives as merely 2.4 out of 10. This presents a stark and timely reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims and the fundamental importance of peace and stability for human wellbeing.”

The measures were taken before the recent conflict in Europe and found that Ukraine came in 98th place this year, falling down the rankings from 69th place last year.

Read the World Happiness Report in full.

Photo by Janaya Dasiuk on Unsplash.

Three ways you can ‘Choose to Help’ on the International Day of Happiness 2022:

  • Share positive messages: Spread messages that promote peace, kindness and understanding, online and in real life.
  • Connect with people: Reach out to people you know are connected to a crisis and offer care and support.
  • Give directly: Donate money to causes working on the front line of a crisis or find a way to volunteer with local efforts.