2025 World Happiness Report: Finland Wins Eighth Consecutive Title, Taiwan Ranks First in Asia

The 2025 World Happiness Report was released on Thursday, March 20. Finland has been ranked as the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year among 147 countries. Taiwan ranks 27th globally and holds the top spot in the Asian region.

Every year on the International Day of Happiness (March 20), the United Nations releases the “World Happiness Report.” The report is a collaborative effort by Gallup, the Oxford University Wellbeing Research Center, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and is based on Gallup World Poll data. The evaluation criteria include GDP per capita, social support, health, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

The top 20 happiest countries in the world in 2025 are: Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Lithuania, Austria, Canada, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

Finland has once again been named the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, with neighboring countries following closely behind. The rankings of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden (top four) remain the same as in 2024, with Norway again ranking seventh.

Ilana Ron-Levey, Managing Director of Gallup, said that Nordic countries like Finland continue to benefit from universal and high-quality healthcare, education, and social support systems, with low levels of happiness inequality.

John Helliwell, Professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics and co-founder of the World Happiness Report, emphasized the importance of social support systems in taking care of people’s well-being. He also highlighted the role individuals play in overall happiness.

Professor Helliwell, who has long studied the “lost wallet” effect, noted that welfare states do not necessarily mean lost wallets would be returned to their owners. Data shows that Nordic countries rank high in both expected and actual wallet return rates because “these people care about those they live with.”

Finland’s strong performance may also be attributed to other factors, according to Helliwell, citing insights from Finnish experts who attribute it to a sense of unity and trust sparked by the 1939-1940 Winter War (also known as the Russo-Finnish War).

Taiwan ranks 27th globally and holds the top spot in the Asian region; China ranks 68th, Japan 55th, and South Korea 58th. Afghanistan, on the other hand, was identified as the least happy country in the world.

In Latin America, Costa Rica ranks sixth globally, while Mexico ranks tenth, marking the first time these two Latin American countries have entered the top 10 in the 2025 Happiness Report.

Residents of these two countries have been noted for their “strong social networks, strong opinions on economic development, and confidence in leaders and institutions,” according to Ron-Levey.

Furthermore, the United States, after falling out of the top 20 last year, now ranks 24th in the world.

The United States is not the only English-speaking country facing challenges in happiness. The UK, ranking 23rd, reported its lowest average life evaluation since 2017; Canada has seen a decline in happiness over the past decade but still ranks in the top 20 at 18th.

Afghanistan’s happiness index remains at the bottom, ranking 147th. The five least happy countries also include Sierra Leone at 146th, Lebanon at 145th, Malawi at 144th, and Zimbabwe at 143rd.

(This article was referenced from CNN’s report)