International Happiness
Which Countries and Regions are Most Happy?

https://www.humantruth.info/happiness.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2025

Studying happiness is difficult and people tend to overstate their own happiness - in particular those who are aware of international studies of happiness and want to portray their country in a good light. It is also especially overstated by religious folk who are institutionalized into repeating the story of 'how happy my religion makes me'₁.

Currently the happiest countries are Finland, Denmark and Iceland₂. The most unhappy are Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Lebanon₂. In the previous decade (the 2010s), they were Denmark, Finland and Norway₃ (happiest) and S. Sudan, Central African Rep. and Burundi₃ (unhappiest). The unhappiest continent is Africa, by a wide margin.

It is of course true that the happiest people are not those who are necessarily leading the best lives. Excess, indulgence and short-term policy can all lead to a high rating on this chart; things like living morally and frugally, for example, do not automatically go hand in hand with happiness even though they are virtues. But by comparing national happiness to overall development via the Social And Moral index score; we see that overall national development is strongly correlated to average happiness. In other words, the key to making a population happy in the long term is the embracing of liberal democratic values, human rights, tolerance, good education, and a strong social net (which are the factors which cause high rankings on the Social & Moral index).

1. Country Rankings

#happiness #human_development

Happiness Higher is better₂
Pos.		2024 Score₂	2010s Avg₃
1	Finland	7.7	7.56
2	Denmark	7.5	7.62
3	Iceland	7.5	7.41
4	Sweden	7.3	7.35
5	Netherlands	7.3	7.44
6	Costa Rica	7.3	7.16
7	Norway	7.3	7.55
8	Israel	7.2	7.21
9	Luxembourg	7.1	7.00
10	Mexico	7.0	6.74
11	Australia	7.0	7.29
12	New Zealand	7.0	7.31
13	Switzerland	6.9	7.53
14	Belgium	6.9	6.94
15	Ireland	6.9	7.03
16	Lithuania	6.8	5.86
17	Austria	6.8	7.20
18	Canada	6.8	7.37
19	Slovenia	6.8	5.97
20	Czechia	6.8	6.60
21	UAE	6.8	6.83
22	Germany	6.8	6.87
23	UK	6.7	6.89
24	USA	6.7	7.04
25	Belize	6.7	6.08
26	Poland	6.7	5.96
27	Taiwan	6.7	6.33
28	Uruguay	6.7	6.36
29	Kosovo	6.7	5.62
30	Kuwait	6.6	6.24
31	Serbia	6.6	5.23
32	Saudi Arabia	6.6	6.42
33	France	6.6	6.59
34	Singapore	6.6	6.52
35	Romania	6.6	5.60
36	Brazil	6.5	6.65
37	El Salvador	6.5	6.09
38	Spain	6.5	6.41
39	Estonia	6.4	5.62
40	Italy	6.4	6.14
41	Panama	6.4	6.63
42	Argentina	6.4	6.38
43	Kazakhstan	6.4	5.81
44	Guatemala	6.4	6.29
45	Chile	6.4	6.49
46	Vietnam	6.4	5.26
47	Nicaragua	6.3	5.86
48	Malta	6.3	6.42
49	Thailand	6.2	6.20
50	Slovakia	6.2	6.06
51	Latvia	6.2	5.52
52	Oman	6.2	6.85
53	Uzbekistan	6.2	5.92
54	Paraguay	6.2	5.65
55	Japan	6.1	5.95
56	Bosnia & Herzegovina	6.1	5.14
57	Philippines	6.1	5.34
58	S. Korea	6.0	5.90
59	Bahrain	6.0	5.96
60	Portugal	6.0	5.36
61	Colombia	6.0	6.31
62	Ecuador	6.0	5.90
63	Honduras	6.0	5.36
64	Malaysia	6.0	5.81
65	Peru	5.9	5.68
66	Russia	5.9	5.66
67	Cyprus	5.9	5.96
68	China	5.9	5.11
69	Hungary	5.9	5.30
70	Trinidad & Tobago	5.9	6.23
71	Montenegro	5.9	5.31
72=	Croatia	5.9	5.51
72=	Jamaica	5.9	5.72
74	Bolivia	5.9	5.79
75	Kyrgyzstan	5.9	5.16
76	Dominican Rep.	5.8	5.21
77	Mongolia	5.8	5.00
78	Mauritius	5.8	5.70
79	Libya	5.8	5.50
80	Moldova	5.8	5.69
81	Greece	5.8	5.36
82	Venezuela	5.7	5.83
83	Indonesia	5.6	5.26
84	Algeria	5.6	5.52
85	Bulgaria	5.6	4.51
86	Macedonia	5.5	5.16
87	Armenia	5.5	4.43
88	Hong Kong	5.5	5.47
89=	Albania	5.4	4.89
89=	Tajikistan	5.4	5.02
91	Georgia	5.4	4.31
92	Nepal	5.3	4.73
93	Laos	5.3	4.86
94	Turkey	5.3	5.35
95	S. Africa	5.2	4.78
96	Mozambique	5.2	4.67
97	Gabon	5.1	4.43
98	Ivory Coast	5.1	4.40
99	Iran	5.1	4.74
100	Congo, (Brazzaville)	5.0	4.40
101	Iraq	5.0	4.64
102	Guinea	4.9	4.03
103	Namibia	4.9	4.61
104	Cameroon	4.9	4.67
105	Nigeria	4.9	5.06
106	Azerbaijan	4.9	5.06
107	Senegal	4.9	4.42
108	Palestine	4.8	4.69
109	Pakistan	4.8	5.36
110	Niger	4.7	4.21
111	Ukraine	4.7	4.53
112	Morocco	4.6	5.08
113	Tunisia	4.6	4.75
114	Mauritania	4.5	4.44
115	Kenya	4.5	4.43
116	Uganda	4.5	4.16
117	Gambia	4.4	4.63
118	India	4.4	4.35
119	Chad	4.4	4.05
120	Burkina Faso	4.4	4.17
121	Benin	4.4	3.97
122	Somalia	4.3	5.06
123	Mali	4.3	4.25
124	Cambodia	4.3	4.26
125	Ghana	4.3	4.70
126	Myanmar (Burma)	4.3	4.50
127	Togo	4.3	3.48
128	Jordan	4.3	5.21
129	Liberia	4.3	4.00
130	Madagascar	4.2	3.90
131	Zambia	3.9	4.55
132	Ethiopia	3.9	4.37
133	Sri Lanka	3.9	4.34
134	Bangladesh	3.9	4.67
135	Egypt	3.8	4.39
136	Tanzania	3.8	3.55
137	Swaziland	3.8	4.56
138	Lesotho	3.8	4.14
139	Comoros	3.8	3.95
140	Yemen	3.6	3.77
141	Congo, DR	3.5	4.33
142	Botswana	3.4	3.90
143	Zimbabwe	3.4	4.02
144	Malawi	3.3	3.96
145	Lebanon	3.2	5.04
146	Sierra Leone	3.0	4.33
147	Afghanistan	1.4	3.55
q=147.

The data is largely based on self-declaration during questioning. The results are strongly tied to overall rankings on the Social and Moral Development Index (SAMDI), showing that the key to making a population happy in the long term is the embracing of liberal democratic values, human rights, tolerance, good education, and a strong social net. Statistical analysis by the United Nations covering 2005-2017 reveals six factors associated with national happiness₄; all but one (GDP) is included in the SAMDI:

GDP per capita,
social support,
healthy life expectancy,
social freedom,
generosity, and
absence of corruption.

See:

Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index

“There are large gaps in happiness between countries, and these will continue to create major pressures to migrate. Some of those who migrate between countries will benefit and others will lose. In general, those who move to happier countries than their own will gain in happiness, while those who move to unhappier countries will tend to lose.”
Helliwell, Layard & Sachs (2018)₅

2. Regional Comparisons

#australia #happiness #human_development #new_zealand

Area	2024 Score₂	2010s Avg₃
Africa...	4.42	4.35
Asia...	5.41	5.32
Australasia	6.96	7.30
Europe...	6.37	6.00
North America	6.44	6.12
South America	6.16	6.11
The Middle East...	5.36	5.50
World	5.58	5.39

Some skew arises from the fact that the data only includes a few countries in Australasia - and of those, New Zealand and Australia both score highly, making the average for the entire region look high.

3. Happiness and Religion: Does Belief Make You Happy Or Does Unhappiness Make You Believe?

#happiness #human_development #religion #religions #secularisation

Scattergraph of god-belief (theism), religiosity and happiness, by country

Source:₆_,₇

Religious believers often say that their religion makes them happy and that this is one of the reasons for them remaining loyal to their religion₈_,₉. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was distraught by this, blurting out that no-one should "regard a doctrine as true merely because it makes people happy... happiness and virtue are no arguments"₁₀. But even more unfortunately, it happens that across the world, religious countries are unhappier than non-religious ones₁₁.

“Adrian White, a University of Leicester psychologist [analyzed] more than a hundred studies that questioned eighty thousand people worldwide. [...] White's work clearly shows that high levels of belief do not guarantee high levels of happiness for societies. Based on the data, high levels of nonbelief seem more conducive to a society's overall happiness than belief.”
Adrian White
Science Daily (2006)12

For more, see:

"Happiness and Religion: Does Belief Make You Happy Or Does Unhappiness Make You Believe?" by Vexen Crabtree (2014).