Finland is still the happiest country in the world, closely followed by Denmark. In fact, all five Nordic countries have been ranking as chronically happy for many years. But there are some surprises. Eastern European countries (especially Lithuania, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic) are reporting a significant increase in happiness, whereas the United States fell to # 23 in the country rankings (it was #15 last year). There is a large gap between the top and bottom countries, a full six points (on the 0 to 10 happiness scale) between Finland at the top and Afghanistan at the bottom.

There are six key variables that impact how people individually rate their happiness: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and the country’s level of corruption. Especially, happiness is a direct outcome of social support and loneliness. In other words, strong social support, a network of friends, and an active social life pave the way for a happy life. But the best predictor for adult life satisfaction is subjective well-being and emotional health during childhood.

However, there is a gender gap. Worldwide, women more commonly experienced negative emotions (worry, sadness, and anger) in comparison with men—and the gender gap became larger among the old. Females start reporting lower life satisfaction than males by around age 12. This gap widens at ages 13 and 15, and the pandemic has amplified these inequalities.

There is, moreover, an age gap. For the last twenty years, young people in America have been less happy than older adults. Currently, young people (age below 30) dropped dramatically in the country rankings to #62—out of a total of 143 countries surveyed. In contrast, the old reported a higher happiness score. In the United States and Canada, the rankings for those aged 60 and older are 50 or more places higher than for those under 30. There are many reasons for this gap. One of the most interesting is that, as people age, they generally attach more importance to remembering the positive aspects of their lives.

If you want to take a deep dive into the data, click here.