Finland is again ranked happiest country in the world; U.S. falls to its lowest-ever position

Finland named happiest country for 8th year in a row, with Nordic nations dominating rankings, according to World Happiness Report.

“Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row,” according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published on Thursday (March 20, 2025.)

Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.

Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.”

Researchers say that beyond health and wealth, some factors that influence happiness sound deceptively simple: sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support and household size. “In Mexico and Europe, for example, a household size of four to five people predicts the highest levels of happiness,” the study said.

“Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought,” according to the latest findings. As an example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their lost wallet is a strong predictor of the overall happiness of a population.

“Nordic nations rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets,” the study found. Overall, researchers said global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality — actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect.