The happiest countries in the world
Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the rest of the World Happiness Report's top ten, year by year.
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What the data shows
- In 2025, Finland ranks #1 with 7.76, ahead of Iceland (7.54) and Denmark (7.54).
- Back in 2012, Denmark was #1 with 7.69.
- The top spot changed hands 4 times, first to Switzerland in 2014, most recently to Finland in 2017.
- Biggest climber: Costa Rica, from #10 in 2012 to #4 in 2025.
About this chart
The World Happiness Report asks people in each country to rate their life from 0 (worst possible) to 10 (best possible). Nordic countries have dominated the top of the ranking, and Finland has been first in every report since 2018.
Scores are three-year averages from the Gallup World Poll, so small differences between neighbours are within the margin of error.
The data
Source: World Happiness Report (Gallup World Poll) via Our World in Data, average life evaluation on a 0–10 scale. Retrieved November 3, 2026.
| Date | 🇫🇮 Finland | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇳🇴 Norway | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 🇦🇺 Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 7.39 | 7.36 | 7.69 | 7.26 | 7.48 | 7.66 | 7.51 | 7.30 | 7.05 | 7.65 | 7.22 | 7.35 |
| 2014 | 7.41 | 7.56 | 7.53 | 7.23 | 7.36 | 7.52 | 7.38 | 7.28 | 6.95 | 7.59 | 7.29 | 7.28 |
| 2015 | 7.41 | 7.50 | 7.53 | 7.09 | 7.29 | 7.50 | 7.34 | 7.27 | 6.87 | 7.51 | 7.33 | 7.31 |
| 2016 | 7.47 | 7.50 | 7.52 | 7.08 | 7.28 | 7.54 | 7.38 | 7.21 | 6.86 | 7.49 | 7.31 | 7.28 |
| 2017 | 7.63 | 7.50 | 7.55 | 7.07 | 7.31 | 7.59 | 7.44 | 7.19 | 6.91 | 7.49 | 7.32 | 7.27 |
| 2018 | 7.77 | 7.49 | 7.60 | 7.17 | 7.34 | 7.55 | 7.49 | 7.14 | 7.09 | 7.48 | 7.31 | 7.23 |
| 2019 | 7.81 | 7.50 | 7.65 | 7.12 | 7.35 | 7.49 | 7.45 | 7.13 | 7.24 | 7.56 | 7.30 | 7.22 |
| 2020 | 7.84 | 7.55 | 7.62 | 7.07 | 7.36 | 7.39 | 7.46 | 7.16 | 7.32 | 7.57 | 7.28 | 7.18 |
| 2021 | 7.82 | 7.56 | 7.64 | 6.58 | 7.38 | 7.37 | 7.42 | 7.36 | 7.40 | 7.51 | 7.20 | 7.16 |
| 2022 | 7.80 | 7.53 | 7.59 | 6.61 | 7.39 | 7.32 | 7.40 | 7.47 | 7.23 | 7.24 | 7.12 | 7.09 |
| 2023 | 7.74 | 7.53 | 7.58 | 6.96 | 7.34 | 7.30 | 7.32 | 7.34 | 7.12 | 7.06 | 7.03 | 7.06 |
| 2024 | 7.74 | 7.51 | 7.52 | 7.27 | 7.34 | 7.26 | 7.31 | 7.23 | 7.12 | 6.93 | 6.95 | 6.97 |
| 2025 | 7.76 | 7.54 | 7.54 | 7.44 | 7.25 | 7.24 | 7.22 | 7.19 | 7.06 | 7.02 | 7.00 | 6.92 |
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Frequently asked questions
What is the happiest country in the world?
In 2025, Finland ranks #1 with 7.76, followed by Iceland (7.54) and Denmark (7.54). Source: World Happiness Report (Gallup World Poll) via Our World in Data, average life evaluation on a 0–10 scale.
Where does this data come from?
World Happiness Report (Gallup World Poll) via Our World in Data, average life evaluation on a 0–10 scale. Retrieved November 3, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.
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