Which Countries Are Becoming Happier Around the World?

One of the least surprising findings by now for me when looking through the latest World Happiness Report (2024) is how high the life satisfaction scores tend to be in the Nordic countries. Norway is the 7th happiest country in the latest findings assessing life satisfaction from 2021 to 2023. Sweden is 4th, Iceland is 3rd, Denmark is 2nd and Finland is still on top in 1st.

By asking people all across the world the Cantril scale, it can be possible to compare how satisfied people are with their life in comparison to what they would consider the best life for themselves. The question is as follows:

Imagine a ladder where the highest rung is a 10 and represents the best possible life for you, and the lowest rung is a 1 and represents the worst possible life for you. Where would you put your current life satisfaction?

Since the first World Happiness Report in 2006, there have been some countries that have much lower life satisfaction scores, some that have barely changed, and others that have higher life satisfaction scores on average.

Seven countries now have a life satisfaction score that is more than one rung lower on the ladder in 2021-2023 than it was in 2006-2010. These are:

1. Botswana = -1.20 rungs
2. Zambia = -1.20
3. Malawi = -1.20
4. Venezuela = -1.32
5. Jordan = -1.52
6. Lebanon = -2.32
7. Afghanistan = -2.60

Seventeen countries have a life satisfaction score that is one rung higher or more on the ladder in 2021-2023 than it was in 2006-2010. The top 10 are:

1. Serbia = +1.85 rungs higher
2. Bulgaria = +1.57
3. Latvia = +1.47
4. Congo (Brazzaville) = +1.40
5. Romania = +1.31
6. China = +1.29
7. Georgia = +1.29
8. Lithuania = +1.23
9. Phillipines = +1.22
10. Togo = +1.21

Out of the 134 countries that have had their life satisfaction tracked since 2006, 79 countries (58.96%) have improved their average score, and 55 countries (41.04%) now have a lower score in 2021-2023 than what they used to in 2006-2010. So even though life satisfaction scores have lowered in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Western Europe, there are still more countries worldwide that believe their lives have been getting better for them and not worse over the last 18 years.

When we look at youth below 30, both the USA and Canada say that their life satisfaction has dropped by more than a full rung on the ladder in 2021-2023 in comparison to what it was in 2006-2010. Canada has seen the fifth largest drop in life satisfaction for people below 30, and the USA has seen the seventh largest drop.

The youth in Eastern Europe are much more hopeful, with six out of the top seven largest improvements in reported life satisfaction occurring in Serbia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Georgia, North Macedonia and Latvia, all improving by between 1.39 and 2.42 rungs on the ladder between 2006-2010 and 2021-2023.

Congo and Togo saw the largest improvements in life satisfaction for people under 30 in Africa and were the third and the eighth biggest improvers worldwide. Armenia and Mongolia saw the largest improvements in life satisfaction for people under 30 in Asia and saw the 9th and 11th biggest jump for youth worldwide.

What Factors Might Be Important for Overall Happiness?

1. How much money the average person makes in the country

Top five:

1. Luxembourg = $115,041
2. Ireland = $111,256
3. Singapore = $107,891
4. United Arab Emirates = $73,318
5. Switzerland = $70,670

2. How much social support people have

Top five:

1. Iceland
2. Finland
3. Slovakia
4. Hungary
5. Estonia

3. Having a healthy life expectancy

Top five:

1. Japan
2. Singapore
3. South Korea
4. Switzerland
5. Israel

4. Having the freedom to make life choices

Top five:

1. Cambodia
2. Finland
3. Vietnam
4. Sweden
5. Norway

5. How generous people are

Top five:

1. Indonesia = 85.7% donated to charity in the last month
2. Myanmar = 77.9%
3. Malta = 67.8%
4. United Kingdom = 67.7%
5. Iceland = 67.5%

6. The less corrupt people perceive society to be

Top five:

1. Singapore
2. Denmark
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. Switzerland
6. Norway

7. The more positive affect people experience

Top five:

1. Guatemala
2. Panama
3. El Salvador
4. Paraguay
5. Senegal

8. The less negative affect people experience

Top five:

1. Taiwan
2. Kazakhstan
3. Kosovo
4. Mauritius
5. Vietnam

Conclusion

Depending on which factors are most important to you, it may be that the best country for you to live in is different from what may be best for the average person. Interestingly, when people move to a new country, they are impacted by how things are in the country that they move to more than they realise.

Just because some things are getting more challenging, especially in some parts of the world, and especially for some people, it doesn’t mean that everything is getting worse for everyone. If anything, things have been improving for more people over the last 18 years worldwide than worsening.

In Nordic countries, life satisfaction continues to be high even though it may not be improving overall. And in other countries, especially several in Eastern Europe, things are getting a lot better than what they used to be and there is hope that things will continue to improve going forward.

I hope that you find some of these findings as fascinating as I do.

Dr Damon Ashworth

Clinical Psychologist