IT’S NOT JUST YOU

U.S. Reaches Lowest-Ever Ranking on World Happiness Report

The nation’s happiness rate peaked in 2012.

The United States has dropped to its lowest-ever ranking on the World Happiness Report, bumping down a spot from last year and landing on the list’s 24th spot. The 2025 report was published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford on Wednesday in partnership with analytics firm Gallup and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Rankings are determined from answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. According to the Associated Press, the highest ranking the U.S. has ever reached was in 2012, when it peaked at 11th place. Meanwhile, for the eighth year in a row, Finland was named the happiest country in the world. It was followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands to round out the top five. Costa Rica and Mexico also notably entered the top 10 for the first time in the report’s history, ranking at sixth and 10th place, respectively.