The U.S. dropped to its lowest-ever place on a list of the happiest countries to live in, according to an annual survey conducted in 2024 by the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations released on Thursday.
The 2025 “World Happiness Report,” which ranked 147 countries by their happiness levels based on a population’s average evaluation of their quality of life from 2022 to 2024 — while former President Joe Biden was still in office — rated the U.S. in 24th place, its lowest ever spot. In contrast, Finland led the world in happiness for the eighth year in a row, with Finns reporting an average score of 7.736 out of 10 when asked to evaluate their lives, according to the report.
Notably, Americans were left grappling with various issues during Biden’s presidency, including a massive influx of illegal migrants, high crime rates, rampant inflation and a burdensome cost-of-living crisis. Following President Donald Trump’s election victory, some exit polls showed that voters were deeply discontented with Biden’s leadership as president.
Other Nordic countries also remained near the top of the global happiness ranking alongside Finland, with Denmark ranking in second place, Iceland notching third place and Sweden trailing behind in fourth place, the same as last year, according to the report. Meanwhile, the unhappiest country in the world was once again Afghanistan.
Additionally, sharing meals with people is strongly tied to well-being across the globe, with the number of people dining alone in the U.S. increasing 53% over the last two decades, according to the survey.
Household size is closely linked to people’s happiness, with four to five people living together enjoying the highest levels of happiness in Mexico and Europe, according to the report. Relatedly, a November 2024 report from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, found that marriage is one of the strongest factors associated with adult happiness and is associated with such other benefits as increased household income and greater psychological well-being.
Moreover, a 2023 report from physician and former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy found that Americans who lack social connections often experience poor health and other negative outcomes.
“Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling—it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death,” Murthy wrote in the report. “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity. And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations.”
The 2025 World Happiness Report’s rankings are based on combined data from 2022 to 2024, and the number of people and countries surveyed varies year to year but, in general, more than 100,000 people in 140 countries and territories participate in the Gallup World Poll each year, according to its website. In most countries, approximately 1,000 people are contacted by telephone or face-to-face each year for the survey.
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