The United States has dropped to its lowest-ever ranking on the World Happiness Report, at 25th, down a spot from last year on the list’s 24th spot. The 2025 report was published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with analytics Gallup and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Rankings are determined from answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. According to the Associated Press, the highest ranking the U.S. has ever reached was in 2012, when it peaked at 11th place. Meanwhile, for the eighth year in a row, Finland was named the happiest country in the world.
It was followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands to round out the top five. Costa Rica and Mexico also notably entered the top 10 for the first time in the report’s history, ranking at sixth and 10th place, respectively. While Scandinavia continually tops the list and Central American countries are making noticeable improvements, the U.S. lags behind 24 other nations on the happiness scale. Why do we think that might be the case? And what can those of us who want things to improve do to make our lives better, and happier in the U.S.?
