When discussing the northern lights and the aurora borealis, Finland often comes to mind. Interestingly, Finland is also associated with happiness, as it has been recognized as the happiest country in the world for 2025. The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions unveiled the much-anticipated World Happiness Report on March 20th, which is celebrated as World Happiness Day. This report is based on a three-year average of how individuals evaluate their quality of life from over 140 countries. It considers six important factors that influence happiness: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption. Finland has maintained its top position for the eighth consecutive year.
The report also examines how happiness is distributed within countries, revealing that nations with a smaller “happiness gap”—where residents experience similar access to the key factors mentioned—tend to have higher overall happiness levels.
Following Finland in the rankings, Denmark secured second place, with Iceland in third, Sweden in fourth, and the Netherlands in fifth. The top ten list is rounded out by Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg, and Mexico.
As for India, it may not be in the top ten, but it still holds a place on the list, coming in at 118th. This marks an improvement, as it has moved up eight spots from last year’s 126th position, and it has reported its highest average life evaluation since the report began in 2015. India ranks just below Gambia, which is in 117th place (dropping five spots from last year), and Uganda, which is 116th and has risen one rank compared to last year.
While these are the happiest countries, the lowest on the list are Afghanistan at 147th position, Sierra Leone at 146th, Lebanon at 145th, Malawi at 144th, and Zimbabwe at 143rd.
