The Happiest and Unhappiest Countries in The World

The residents of Finland are officially the world's happiest people in 2024, according to a report from the United Nations and Oxford University.

The Scandinavian country topped the World Happiness Report, which includes 143 countries, for the seventh year in a row.

Famed for saunas and reindeer, the country has a population of approximately 5.6 million.

At the other end of the scale, Afghanistan came last in the ranking.

Meanwhile, happiness levels in the UK appear to be dropping as the country fell to 20th place – down from 19th in 2023. The United States has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time, a decline largely due to dissatisfaction among younger Americans.

Methodology
For the report, researchers surveyed over 100,000 people in more than 140 countries between 2021 and 2023 through the Gallup World Poll. Participants were asked to evaluate their happiness on a scale from 0–10, with 10 representing "the best possible life for them."

Researchers also evaluated six factors that could explain different levels of happiness in each country:

• Social support
• GDP per capita
• A healthy life expectancy
• Freedom to make life choices
• Generosity
• Perception of corruption

The happiest countries in the world
This year, the 10 happiest countries in the world were:

1. Finland (Score: 7.741)