What is the happiest country in the world in 2023?

Finland has maintained its position as the happiest country in world in 2023, according to a new ranking list published this week. The happiest countries in the world largely remained the same, with only one nation – Lithuania – breaking into the top 20 this year.

Ranking of the happiest countries in the world in 2023…

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Israel
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Norway
8. Switzerland
9. Luxembourg
10. New Zealand
11. Austria
12. Australia
13. Canada
14. Ireland
15. United States

How is it ranked?

Researchers (who are independent experts, and not part of any organisations) asked a global sample about their quality of life and wellbeing. The survey asked the respondents to evaluate their lives on a 1-10 scale, with responses across three years (2020-2022) used. There were roughly 1,000 respondents for each country.

Overall results

Respondents generally didn’t record a drop in life evaluation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with global evaluation averages between 2020-2022 at similar levels to the three years before the pandemic. Some of the least happy countries were Afghanistan and Lebanon.