Happiness Report 2024: Finland Leads, India Steady, US And Germany Out Of Top 20

Finland has maintained its position as the world's happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, according to the annual UN-sponsored World Happiness Report 2024 released on Wednesday. India, on the other hand, retained its ranking at 126, the same as last year, in the happiness index. Nordic nations continued to dominate the top ranks, with Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden following closely behind Finland.

In contrast, Afghanistan, which has been grappling with a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban regained control in 2020, remained at the bottom of the 143 countries surveyed.

For the first time in over a decade, the United States and Germany did not make it to the top 20 happiest nations, ranking 23rd and 24th respectively. Meanwhile, Costa Rica and Kuwait made their debut in the top 20, securing the 12th and 13th spots.

The report highlighted that the happiest countries no longer included any of the world's most populous nations. "In the top 10 countries, only the Netherlands and Australia have populations over 15 million. In the entire top 20, only Canada and the UK have populations over 30 million."

The report also noted significant changes in happiness levels since 2006-10, with Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Jordan experiencing the sharpest declines, while Eastern European countries like Serbia, Bulgaria, and Latvia reported the largest increases.

The happiness rankings are based on individuals' self-assessed evaluations of life satisfaction, as well as factors such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.

Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, attributed Finns' high life satisfaction to their close connection to nature and healthy work-life balance. She also noted that Finns may have a more realistic view of success compared to countries like the United States, where success is often equated with financial gain.

Finland's strong welfare society, trust in state authorities, low levels of corruption, and access to free healthcare and education were also cited as key factors contributing to the country's happiness.

The report also found that younger generations were generally happier than older generations in most regions, except for North America, Australia, and New Zealand, where happiness among young people has declined significantly since 2006-10.

Overall, happiness inequality has increased in every region except Europe, which the authors described as a "worrying trend." The rise in inequality was particularly pronounced among older individuals and in Sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting disparities in income, education, healthcare, and social acceptance.