The US fell to its lowest ranking in the 13-year history of the World Happiness Report this week.
Released Thursday to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, The World Happiness Report 2025 placed the US 24th among countries — one spot down from last year and significantly lower than its 15th place finish in 2023.
The US sat just below the UK, and above the likes of Belize, Poland, and Taiwan.
The majority of the top 10 were European countries, with Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, and Luxembourg claiming seven of the spots.
Finland took the top spot for the eighth year running, while Afghanistan remained the least happy country in the world.
Since the report’s inception in 2012, the US has never broken into the top 10, with its highest ranking — 11th — taking place in that first year.
The ranking is based on the Cantril Ladder, a life evaluation metric used in the Gallup World Poll, which surveys more than 100,000 people in 140 countries and territories.
Participants are asked to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10, with zero representing the worst possible life imaginable and 10 the best.
Finland scored an average of 7.7, the US 6.7, and Afghanistan 1.4.
The only non-European countries in the top 10 were Israel, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
The 2025 World Happiness Report focused on the impact of caring and sharing on people’s overall happiness. It said one reason for declining well-being in the US is a rising number of people eating alone.
Citing data from the American Time Use Survey, it found that in 2023, about a quarter of Americans ate all their meals alone the day before.
Another issue raised in the report is the US’s increasing rate of “deaths of despair” — preventable deaths from suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug overdose.
Last year, the World Happiness Report examined happiness across different age groups.
Lithuania was ranked the happiest country for people under 30, but also had one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
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