This week, the eagerly awaited World Happiness Report 2025 was released, providing essential insights into global wellbeing and how we can improve it. The report, which combines data from over 140 countries, offers a unique perspective on what makes people happy and how we can create more happiness within our communities and nations.
At the heart of the report is a single question from the Gallup World Poll, known as the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. This question asks individuals to imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 (representing the worst possible life) to 10 (representing the best possible life) and to rate where they feel they stand on that ladder. This simple yet powerful question forms the basis of the report’s global happiness ranking.
Unfortunately, this year, the UK and the US have both fallen to their lowest positions in the rankings. Despite being the sixth richest nation in the world, the UK now sits at 23rd place, while the US is at 24th place. In contrast, Finland has been named the happiest place in the world for the eighth year in a row.
The report’s findings are based on a three-year average of each population’s average assessment of their quality of life. Interdisciplinary experts from economics, psychology, sociology, and beyond then seek to explain the variations across countries and over time using factors such as GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
While these factors help to explain the differences across nations, the rankings themselves are based solely on individuals’ own assessments of their lives. It’s a sobering thought for the UK, but there is some hopeful news to be found in the report.
Despite the UK’s low ranking, the overall findings from the researchers were surprisingly wholesome and provide us with attainable goals for rebuilding and finding joy and comfort where we can. Lara B. Aknin, a professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University and an editor of the World Happiness Report, highlights the importance of relationships and acts of kindness in driving human happiness. She says, “Investing in positive social connections and engaging in benevolent actions are both matched by greater happiness.”
Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, adds, “The findings in this year’s World Happiness Report reconfirm a fundamental truth: happiness is rooted in trust, kindness, and social connection.” He goes on to stress the importance of taking positive action to foster peace, civility, and wellbeing in communities worldwide.
So while the UK may have fallen in the happiness rankings, there is hope for the future. As individuals and citizens, we have the power to create positive change and improve our own happiness and the happiness of those around us. Let’s use this report as a wake-up call to invest in our relationships, show kindness to others, and work towards a more peaceful and connected world.
In a world that often feels divided and uncertain, it’s encouraging to see that happiness is still within our reach. As Professor Aknin says, “It is up to us as virtuous individuals and citizens to translate this vital truth into positive action.” Let’s take this message to heart and strive towards a happier, more connected world.
