The World Happiness Report 2024, a list of the happiest countries in the world, was released on Wednesday (20), International Day of Happiness. And if you think Brazil is at the top of the list, you are very mistaken. Neither Brazil nor the United States are among the top 20.
For the first time since the World Happiness Report was launched 12 years ago, the U.S. is not ranked among the 20 happiest countries in the world. It is in 23rd place, with the United Arab Emirates and Slovenia ahead at 20th and 21st places, respectively.
Brazil has climbed 5 positions in the global ranking from 2023 to 2024, now occupying 44th place. However, within Latin America, Brazil falls behind Uruguay (26th) and Chile (38th) on the overall list. Costa Rica, on the other hand, is the Latin American country closest to breaking into the top 10 of the global ranking, at 12th place.
So, what are the 20 happiest countries?
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Costa Rica
- Kuwait
- Austria
- Canada
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Czech Republic
- Lithuania
- United Kingdom
The Nordic countries still dominate the happiness charts. But to get a better idea, people need to look at the top 20 as a whole. There are almost no countries with large populations at the top.
“In the top ten countries, only the Netherlands and Australia have populations over 15 million,” states the report’s website. “In the total of the top twenty, only Canada and the United Kingdom have populations over 30 million.”
World Happiness Report reveals that young people are not happy in the U.S.
The report analyzed and ranked happiness across different age groups. The United States ranked among the top 10 when the report looked at the happiness of ‘elderly’ people, those aged 60 and over. However, regarding the happiness of young people under 30, the country ranked 63rd.
What is the World Happiness Report?
According to its website, it is a partnership between Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Editorial Board of the WHR (World Happiness Report), which produces the report.
“The World Happiness Report reflects a global demand for greater attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy,” states its website. “It analyzes the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.”
How do researchers of the World Happiness Report measure happiness?
According to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, SDSN, global researchers analyze data from the Gallup World Poll.
The survey gathers responses from over 100,000 people worldwide.
People in different countries rate their happiness by imagining a ladder with 10 rungs. The lowest rung of the ladder represents the worst of the worst that a person’s life can be. The tenth is the highest rung and represents the best life a person can have. Researchers then ask people which rung they believe they are on.
What factors affect happiness?
The authors list six factors that can explain different levels of happiness.
• Social Support – This is the best indicator of happiness. If people feel they have at least one person they can turn to when needed, they are more likely to feel secure.
• GDP per capita – This is how much a country produces divided by its population.
• Healthy Life – Researchers analyze the physical and mental health of the population.
• Freedom to make life choices – This plays a crucial role in how someone feels happy.
• Generosity – This factor analyzes how charitable the people of a country are.
• Perception of Corruption – How corrupt are the government and business policies of a country?
Source: USA Today