Which country has the highest World Happiness Score?

Finland has the highest World Happiness Score in 2025, at 7.74, followed by Denmark (7.52) and Iceland (7.52).

Which country has the lowest World Happiness Score?

Afghanistan has the lowest World Happiness Score in 2025, at 1.36.

What is the median World Happiness Score across countries?

The median is 5.87 across the 144 countries with data in 2025.

Where does this best countries to live in data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Development Index (HDI); Best Countries to Live - Quality of Life - US News and World Report; World Happiness Report - World Happiness; Better Life Index - OECD.

Country rankings

Best Countries to Live In

Name: Best Countries to Live In
Creator: Rankodex

Finland has the highest World Happiness Score in 2025 (7.74), followed by Denmark (7.52) and Iceland (7.52). Afghanistan has the lowest (1.36).

Economics194 countries · 2 metricsUpdated May 14, 2025Original page

4 sources

Showing

Year

144 of 235 countries

Compare this metric Add to combined ranking Open full map

World Happiness Score, 2025

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

Loading map…

Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 144 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

5.87

Middle half 4.72 – 6.42

Average

5.57

144 countries

Highest

7.74

Finland

Lowest

1.36

Afghanistan

Over time · 2022–2025

The top 5 in 2025, against the median.

Median of all countries
Finland
Denmark
Iceland
Sweden
Netherlands

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

194 countries · # = rank by World Happiness Score

#
1	Finland	7.74	0.948
2	Denmark	7.52	0.962
2	Iceland	7.52	0.972
4	Sweden	7.35	0.959
5	Netherlands	7.31	0.955
6	Costa Rica	7.27	0.833
7	Norway	7.26	0.97
8	Israel	7.23	0.919
9	Luxembourg	7.12	0.922
10	Mexico	6.98	0.789
11	Australia	6.97	0.958
12	New Zealand	6.95	0.938
13	Switzerland	6.94	0.97
14	Belgium	6.91	0.951
15	Ireland	6.89	0.949
16	Lithuania	6.83	0.895
17	Austria	6.81	0.93
18	Canada	6.8	0.939
19	Slovenia	6.79	0.931
20	Czechia	6.78	0.915
21	United Arab Emirates	6.76	0.94
22	Germany	6.75	0.959
23	United Kingdom	6.73	0.946
24	United States	6.72	0.938
25	Belize	6.71	0.721
26	Taiwan	6.67	—
27	Kuwait	6.63	0.852
28	Serbia	6.61	0.833
29	Saudi Arabia	6.6	0.9
30	France	6.59	0.92
31	Singapore	6.57	0.946
32	Romania	6.56	0.845
33	Brazil	6.49	0.786
33	El Salvador	6.49	0.678
35	Spain	6.47	0.918
36	Italy	6.42	0.915
36	Estonia	6.42	0.905
38	Panama	6.41	0.839
39	Argentina	6.4	0.865
40	Kazakhstan	6.38	0.837
41	Poland	6.37	0.906
42	Chile	6.36	0.878
42	Guatemala	6.36	0.662
44	Vietnam	6.35	0.766
45	Nicaragua	6.33	0.706
46	Malta	6.32	0.924
47	Thailand	6.22	0.798
47	Slovakia	6.22	0.88
49	Latvia	6.21	0.889
50	Oman	6.2	0.858
51	Uzbekistan	6.19	0.74
52	Paraguay	6.17	0.756
53	Japan	6.15	0.925
54	Bosnia and Herzegovina	6.14	0.804
55	Philippines	6.11	0.72
56	South Korea	6.04	0.937
57	Bahrain	6.03	0.899
58	Portugal	6.01	0.89
59	Colombia	6	0.788
60	Ecuador	5.97	0.777
61	Malaysia	5.96	0.819
61	Honduras	5.96	0.645
63	Russia	5.95	0.832
63	Peru	5.95	0.794
65	Cyprus	5.94	0.913
66	China	5.92	0.797
66	Hungary	5.92	0.87
68	Tunisia	5.91	0.746
69	Montenegro	5.88	0.862
70	Bolivia	5.87	0.733
70	Croatia	5.87	0.889
70	Jamaica	5.87	0.72
73	Kyrgyzstan	5.86	0.72
74	Dominican Republic	5.85	0.776
75	Mongolia	5.83	0.747
75	Mauritius	5.83	0.806
77	Libya	5.82	0.721
77	Moldova	5.82	0.785
79	Greece	5.78	0.908
80	Venezuela	5.68	0.709
81	Indonesia	5.62	0.728
82	Algeria	5.57	0.763
83	Bulgaria	5.55	0.845
84	North Macedonia	5.5	0.815
85	Hong Kong	5.49	0.955
85	Armenia	5.49	0.811
87	Tajikistan	5.41	0.691
87	Albania	5.41	0.81
89	Georgia	5.4	0.844
90	Nepal	5.31	0.622
91	Laos	5.3	0.617
92	Turkey	5.26	0.853
93	South Africa	5.21	0.741
94	Mozambique	5.19	0.493
95	Gabon	5.12	0.733
96	Ivory Coast	5.1	0.582
97	Iran	5.09	0.799
98	Republic of the Congo	5.03	0.649
99	Iraq	4.98	0.695
100	Guinea	4.93	0.5
101	Namibia	4.91	0.665
102	Nigeria	4.89	0.56
102	Cameroon	4.89	0.588
104	Azerbaijan	4.88	0.789
105	Senegal	4.86	0.53
106	Palestine	4.78	0.674
107	Pakistan	4.77	0.544
108	Niger	4.73	0.419
109	Ukraine	4.68	0.779
110	Morocco	4.62	0.71
111	Mauritania	4.54	0.563
112	Kenya	4.51	0.628
113	Uganda	4.46	0.582
114	Gambia	4.42	0.524
115	India	4.39	0.685
116	Burkina Faso	4.38	0.459
116	Chad	4.38	0.416
118	Benin	4.36	0.515
119	Mali	4.35	0.419
119	Somalia	4.35	0.404
121	Ghana	4.34	0.628
121	Cambodia	4.34	0.606
123	Myanmar	4.32	0.609
123	Togo	4.32	0.571
125	Jordan	4.31	0.754
126	Liberia	4.28	0.51
127	Madagascar	4.16	0.487
128	Zambia	3.91	0.595
129	Ethiopia	3.9	0.497
130	Sri Lanka	3.89	0.776
131	Bangladesh	3.85	0.685
132	Egypt	3.82	0.754
133	Tanzania	3.8	0.555
134	Eswatini	3.77	0.695
135	Lesotho	3.76	0.55
136	Comoros	3.75	0.603
137	Yemen	3.56	0.47
138	DR Congo	3.47	0.522
139	Botswana	3.44	0.731
140	Zimbabwe	3.4	0.598
141	Malawi	3.26	0.517
142	Lebanon	3.19	0.752
143	Sierra Leone	3	0.467
144	Afghanistan	1.36	0.496
—	Sudan	—	0.511
—	Angola	—	0.616
—	Syria	—	0.564
—	Rwanda	—	0.578
—	Burundi	—	0.439
—	South Sudan	—	0.388
—	Haiti	—	0.554
—	Papua New Guinea	—	0.576
—	Cuba	—	0.762
—	Belarus	—	0.824
—	Turkmenistan	—	0.764
—	Central African Republic	—	0.414
—	Eritrea	—	0.503
—	Uruguay	—	0.862
—	Qatar	—	0.886
—	Guinea-Bissau	—	0.514
—	Equatorial Guinea	—	0.674
—	Trinidad and Tobago	—	0.807
—	Timor-Leste	—	0.634
—	Djibouti	—	0.513
—	Fiji	—	0.731
—	Solomon Islands	—	0.584
—	Guyana	—	0.776
—	Bhutan	—	0.698
—	Suriname	—	0.722
—	Maldives	—	0.766
—	Cape Verde	—	0.668
—	Brunei	—	0.837
—	Bahamas	—	0.82
—	Vanuatu	—	0.621
—	Barbados	—	0.811
—	Sao Tome and Principe	—	0.637
—	Samoa	—	0.708
—	Saint Lucia	—	0.748
—	Kiribati	—	0.644
—	Seychelles	—	0.848
—	Grenada	—	0.791
—	Micronesia	—	0.615
—	Tonga	—	0.769
—	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	—	0.798
—	Antigua and Barbuda	—	0.851
—	Andorra	—	0.913
—	Dominica	—	0.761
—	Saint Kitts and Nevis	—	0.84
—	Liechtenstein	—	0.938
—	Marshall Islands	—	0.733
—	San Marino	—	0.915
—	Palau	—	0.786
—	Nauru	—	0.703
—	Tuvalu	—	0.689

What correlates with World Happiness Score (2025)?

Pearson r against 1,551 other country metrics sharing at least 87 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher World Happiness Score tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

World Happiness RankHappiest Countries in the WorldA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.97 · very strong · n = 144
Plot
Ladder of Life Score (self-reported well-being)Happy Planet Index by Country
r = +0.95 · very strong · n = 137
Plot
Global Food Security Index (GFSI) ScoreFood Self Sufficiency Rate by Country
r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 104
Plot
Social Progress IndexSocial Progress Index by Country
r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 139
Plot
Energy Trilemma Index RankEnergy Trilemma Energy Performance IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.81 · very strong · n = 121
Plot
Foundations & WellbeingSocial Progress Index by Country
r = +0.81 · very strong · n = 138
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher World Happiness Score tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

% of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = −0.81 · very strong · n = 130
Plot
Gender Inequality Index ScoreGender Inequality Index by Country
r = −0.79 · very strong · n = 139
Plot
Public ServicesFailed States
r = −0.78 · very strong · n = 141
Plot
Still Birth RateStillbirth Rates by Country
r = −0.78 · very strong · n = 142
Plot
Fragile States Index
r = −0.78 · very strong · n = 142
Plot
Failed States IndexFailed States
r = −0.78 · very strong · n = 141
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest World Happiness Score?: Finland has the highest World Happiness Score in 2025, at 7.74, followed by Denmark (7.52) and Iceland (7.52).
Which country has the lowest World Happiness Score?: Afghanistan has the lowest World Happiness Score in 2025, at 1.36.
What is the median World Happiness Score across countries?: The median is 5.87 across the 144 countries with data in 2025.
Where does this best countries to live in data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Development Index (HDI); Best Countries to Live - Quality of Life - US News and World Report; World Happiness Report - World Happiness; Better Life Index - OECD.