Israel ranks as 8th-happiest nation in global survey, down from 5th last year; US is 24th
Despite ongoing war and political turmoil, Israeli young adults rank highest in self-reported quality of social connections; in the ‘freedom’ section, Israel only placed 87th
Israel is the world’s eighth happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday.
In the annual survey — conducted during the second year of Israel’s war against Hamas and other Iranian proxies, alongside domestic political turmoil — Finland came in first for the eighth year in a row, while the US dropped to its lowest-ever position, at 24.
Israel, which always ranks highly in the report, fell several places from 2024, when it ranked fifth — though that survey had been based on data collected prior to the unprecedented Hamas invasion and slaughter of October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war.
The 2024 report had also marked a slight dip from fourth place in 2023, which was a jump from ninth in 2022.
Israeli young adults spoke most positively out of anyone in this year’s survey about the quality of their social connections — with Mexico and Argentina following closely behind — and seventh on their quantity.
On the rubric of freedom, however, Israelis ranked their country 87th out of the approximately 130 countries studied, while on graft it is seen as only the 32nd most corrupt place. On inequality, it snagged the 15th-highest score, where a higher score means less inequality.
Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings this year, in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.
Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.”
Sharing meals and having somebody to count on
Researchers say that beyond health and wealth, some factors that influence happiness sound deceptively simple: sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support, and household size. In Mexico and Europe, for example, a household size of four to five people predicts the highest levels of happiness, the study said.
Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.
As an example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their lost wallet is a strong predictor of the overall happiness of a population.
Nordic nations rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets, the study found.
Overall, researchers said global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality — actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect.
US falls to its lowest-ever position in happiness ranking
While European countries dominate the top 20 in the ranking, there were some exceptions. Aside from Israel, Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time, ranking 6th and 10th, respectively.
When it comes to decreasing happiness — or growing unhappiness — the United States has dropped to its lowest-ever position at 24, having previously peaked at 11th place in 2012. The report states that the number of people dining alone in the United States has increased by 53 percent over the past two decades.
The United Kingdom, ranked 23rd, is reporting its lowest average life evaluation since the 2017 report.
Afghanistan is again ranked as the unhappiest country in the world, with Afghan women saying their lives are especially difficult.
Sierra Leone in western Africa is the second unhappiest, followed by Lebanon, ranking the 3rd from the bottom.
A fifth of young adults globally have no social support
In a concerning development, the study said 19% of young adults across the world reported in 2023 that they have no one they could count on for social support. That is a 39% increase compared to 2006.
All countries are ranked according to their self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022 to 2024.
Experts in 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, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
