25 Happiest Countries in the World

Published on September 7, 2021 at 9:51 am by Aima Zaheer in Lists, News

In this article, we discuss the 25 happiest countries in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of these countries and go directly to the 5 Happiest Countries in the World.

Every year the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network releases their annual report titled “World Happiness Report.” This annual survey across the countries marks a visible link between their happiness and development, and this idea was first presented in 2012. The researchers for this report keep six areas under consideration: GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, trust and corruption, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity.

However, the report of 2021 is quite different from the past reports. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has lost its normality without a doubt. Around 2.6 million people across the globe lost their lives. It seems as if happiness is fading away from our surroundings. The continuous lockdowns being imposed have given a major jolt to the countries’ economies and have shaken up the mental health of people living in isolation.

The study shows that mental health issues in the UK have risen to 47% due to the pandemic. The findings reveal that women, youngsters, and the poor are dealing with more mental health issues than before. People lost touch with each other and went into complete isolation, which was harder to accept for those who remain socially active. But apart from this, the pandemic served as an opportunity for many to go through the list of things they missed doing due to their everyday busy life or hectic routine. Some enjoyed this time of lockdown and quarantine as they were able to find peace and calm in it. Many got themselves enrolled in online courses and other activities to make good use of this time.

Since this wave of the virus has transformed the world entirely within a year, the researchers working for the report this year were more focused on the performance of the governments all over the world.

The pandemic has become a challenge for all countries. The relationship between these variables that marks the level of happiness and well-being of countries is strong; thus, the governments are playing a major role in this fight against Covid-19.

Our Methodology

For our list of 25 happiest countries of the world, we will look into the World Happiness Report 2021, which provides insight into where a country stands with respect to its happiness and well-being, based upon six variables, mainly as mentioned earlier. The Gallup World Poll serves as the main source of data collection in this report as it helps in generating the ranks according to the results obtained from the conducted surveys. Along with this, the Cantril ladder survey method is used to obtain the results from the respondents across the country. This works like a scale from 0 to 10, where 10 serves as the best and 0 as the worst to rate the lifestyle and happiness of the respondents.

The measurement of well-being relies on three main factors: life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions. The positive and negative emotions play a vital role in the results amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has altered the lives of all.

To calculate the positive emotions, the respondents were asked about how often they go through positive emotions throughout their day along with the negative ones and how negative feelings hit them throughout their day. The negative emotions were answered in terms of sadness, worry, and anger by the respondents.

Photo by Jaddy Liu on Unsplash

With a deeper understanding of the measurement of the results, let’s now move on to the list of the 25 happiest countries in the world.

Happiest Countries in the World

25. The United Arab Emirates

Score 6.561

The United Arab Emirates stands at the lowest position in our list of 25 happiest countries in the world with a score of 6.561.

24. Taiwan

Score 6.584

Taiwan comes at 24th on our list with a score of 6.584. The country brilliantly handled the Covid-19 crisis. From introducing face masks to keeping track of the Covid patients online, the country smoothly coped through the situation. Moreover, a great number of people abided by the restrictions in place. Taiwan worked rapidly towards taking precautions against the virus in its early stages.

23. Malta

Score 6.602

Malta makes it to the 23rd position in our list of 25 happiest countries of the world, having a score of 6.602 this year.

22. Bahrain

Score 6.647

The 22nd position in our list of 25 happiest countries in the world is taken by Bahrain. The country scored 6.647 this year.

21. France

Score 6.690

France stands at the 21st position among all 25, with a score of 6.690. The country has observed a major transformation in its life evaluations from 2019 to 2020. Proof regarding an increased level in its life evaluation is provided by both Gallup World Poll and Eurobarometer. In France, the rate of infections began to rise by the end of March and the start of April. On the appearance of 100 plus cases, the country began to impose restrictions in order to curb the spread of the virus.

20. Belgium

Score 6.834

Belgium comes 20th in our list of 25 happiest countries globally, having a score of 6.834. The country was among those places where most of the women lost their jobs during the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. While this pandemic marked the most casualties throughout history, Belgium was one of those countries where 100 deaths per 100,000 population occurred.

19. United States of America

Score 6.951

The 19th rank in our list is of the United States, with a score of 6.951. The country marked the highest death rates across the globe amid the pandemic. Among many others, the United States was the country where there was a dubious situation about the virus due to which the death rate continued to grow and caused the worst crisis.

18. The Czech Republic

Score 6.965

The Czech Republic ranks as the 18th happiest country in the world this year.

17. United Kingdom

Score 7.064

The United Kingdom is the 17th happiest country among the 25 on our list. The country has a score of 7.064 this year. If we look at the United Kingdom’s life evaluation, it had come down from 7.16 in 2019 to 6.80 in 2020. It also marked tremendous casualties due to covid-19. High infection rates were recorded in the UK, which ultimately resulted in the imposition of strict measures.

The usage of social media and internet services like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) skyrocketed in the country during the pandemic.

16. Costa Rica

Score 7.069

Costa Rica comes at 16th in the list of the top 25 happiest countries of the world. It has a score of 7.069 this year. The country is working on its GDP per capita and has shown a bit of improvement in it. The factors of healthy life expectancy and the freedom to make decisions of one’s choice are average, not too bad to count compared to most of the countries on the list.

15. Ireland

Score 7.085

In our list of top 25 happiest countries of the world, Ireland has taken up the 15th position with a score of 7.085. Surveys from Ireland showed that people who kept themselves engaged in healthy activities like walking and exercising showed more positive emotions.

However, usage of social media and internet services like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) skyrocketed in Ireland during the pandemic.

14. Canada

Score 7.103

Canada comes at 14th place in our list of 25 happiest countries in the world. Respondents from Canada missed social gatherings and activities, according to the report. They had a sense of satisfaction when things were normal without any restrictions on outdoor activities.

13. Germany

Score 7.155

Germany takes up the 13th rank in our list of 25 happiest countries in the world. The country introduced different policies for the workers to provide them ease during the chaotic situation of Covid-19. A Kurzarbeit scheme was introduced that involved fewer working hours for the employees, and from April onwards, a major wave of life satisfaction was seen among the people.

You can see lifestyle of Germans on video platforms of companies like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

12. Israel

Score 7.157

Israel comes at number 12 with a score of 7.157. A good amount of data obtained from this country showed that due to the rapid vaccination process in the country, the chances of contracting the virus and hospitalization of older adults were limited.

11. Australia

Score 7.183

Australia is ranked 11th in the list of our 25 happiest countries in the world. In Australia, many adults agreed that owning a pet helped them come out of their loneliness.

Australia is currently in the headlines on internet platforms of companies like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) amid the country’s handling of COVID-19 vaccinations.

10. Austria

Score 7.263

Our 10th country in the list of 25 happiest countries is Austria. This country reports unusual results from their survey that showed most people did not complain about loneliness. On the other hand, those who used to be more social found peace and were happy to spend time in isolation.

9. New Zealand

Score 7.277

New Zealand is at the 9th rank on our list. This country has kept the well-being of its people their priority and has developed many policies regarding this. The EU Council of Ministers and the OECD want it to be the center of any policy designed.

You can see lifestyle of people of New Zealand on video platforms of companies like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

8. Luxembourg

Score 7.324

Luxembourg comes at the 8th position in our list of 25 happiest countries in the world. The country, however, shows a high rate of unemployment from 2019 to 2020.

You can see lifestyle of people of Luxembourg on the internet, especially on video platforms of companies like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

7. Sweden

Score 7.363

We see Sweden in 7th position in our list of happiest countries. Sweden has a score of 7.363 this year. With its wide range of Covid-19 strategies, the country worked efficiently to curb the spread of the virus.

6. Norway

Score 7.392

Norway comes 6th in our list as it showed lower death rates compared to other countries in Europe and did not fail to show its remarkable performance in terms of ensuring the well-being of its population amidst the pandemic.

You can see lifestyle of people of Norway on the internet, especially on video platforms of companies like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

To see the rest of the countries in this list, click 5 Happiest Countries in the World.