The World Happiness Report 2024 was recently released and once again, 11 Nordic countries are scoring the highest. Finland continues to be named and has maintained its leading position for the 7th consecutive year.
Notably, in this year's rankings, Vietnam rose 11 places compared to 2023 and reached 54th place.
According to the assessment, Finland with its cool weather - where the aurora dances in winter and the summer sun can shine all night long - has become a country that combines all the elements when it comes to the right social conditions for people to be happy.
According to Mr. John Helliwell, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia (Canada), and founding editor of the World Happiness Report, the survey asked each participant to rate their entire life and consider what they value.
“And you find Finland is quite rich in all of those things, like wallets being returned if lost on the street, people helping each other every day,education and health care opportunities being very high quality and widely distributed. So everyone walks out of the starting gate more or less the same,” said John Helliwell.
He also stressed that Finland has happy immigrants, “so they are willing to share with newcomers”.
Notably, the report looks at six key variables to help explain assessments of well-being: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
Finland's Nordic neighbors also scored reliably high in the rankings, with Denmark (No. 2), Iceland (No. 3) and Sweden (No. 4) rounding out the top five, and Norway (No. 7) rounding out the top 10.
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Israel is a surprise 5th place in this year's report, although the country has been in the top 10 since 2022. The report's authors point out that the country's ranking is based on an average of three consecutive years from 2011 to 2023, so it has little impact at the moment.
The report, which is based largely on polling by polling and analytics firm Gallup, also ranked Palestine at 103rd. Meanwhile, the Netherlands (No. 6), Luxembourg (No. 8), Switzerland (No. 9) and Australia (No. 10) also made the top 10.
Notably, the US and Germany dropped out of the top 20 this year. Specifically, the US (number 23) and Germany (number 24). The reason for these countries' decline is partly due to increased happiness levels in other countries such as the Czech Republic (number 18), Lithuania (number 19) and Slovenia (number 21). The UK ranked 20th.
While Lithuania ranked 19th this year on the list, respondents under 30 (the younger group) still rated it as the number 1 happiest country in 2024. Meanwhile, among those over 60, Lithuania ranked only 44th.
Top 10 happiest countries in the world in 2024
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Israel
6. Netherlands
7. Norway
8. Luxembourg
9. Switzerland
10. Australia.
In particular, in the United States and Canada, the happiness index scores of people under 30 are significantly lower than those aged 60 and over. Based on the assessment of the group of people under 30, the United States ranked 62nd, while for those aged 60 and over, the United States ranked 10th. Canada currently ranks 58th in the happiness index for young people and 8th based on the assessment of seniors aged 60 and over.
In addition, Australia and New Zealand, to a lesser extent, also rank much lower among young people. Mr Helliwell said the low scores among young people in these countries were not a matter of lower education levels, lower incomes or poorer health.
“It's what they think about their life. So it could be a mood question,” Mr Helliwell said.
The report also said that globally, young people aged 15-24 reported an overall improvement in life satisfaction between 2006 and 2019, and that life satisfaction had remained stable since then. But the picture varied by region. Young people’s well-being declined in North America, Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. In the rest of the world, it increased.
Another positive takeaway from the survey, Mr Helliwell said, is that altruism has increased across all generations since the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly among young people. It’s getting stronger.
“It is encouraging. Despite the fact that in some countries they are not very happy, they are still able and willing to perform charitable acts for others. And that gives hope for the future,” the report noted.
The World Happiness Report is based on global survey data, collecting data from people in more than 140 countries and territories. Countries are ranked on their happiness levels based on their average life assessment over the previous three years. The 2024 report is based on data from 2021 to 2023.
This report is a collaboration of the Gallup Institute, the Oxford Centre for Health Research, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an editorial board.
The World Happiness Report looks at six key variables to help explain assessments of well-being: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
Truc Chi (t/h To Quoc, Nhan Dan)
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