The 12th annual report on the United Nations International Day of Happiness, published this year, provides a unique insight into global happiness levels. Based on data from the Gallup global survey and analyzed by leading welfare scientists around the world, the report sheds light on how different countries and age groups experience varying levels of life satisfaction.
This year’s report also includes separate rankings by age groups, revealing significant variations from the overall ranking. For instance, Lithuania tops the list for children and young people under 30, while Denmark claims the title of the happiest nation in the world for those aged 60 and over.
The study highlights that Serbia and Bulgaria saw the largest increases in average happiness scores compared to the 2013 survey. On the other hand, the United States dropped out of the top 20 countries for the first time, coming in at 23rd place. The report also showcases that people born before 1965 tend to be happier on average than those born after 1980. Happiness tends to decrease with age among millennials, while the baby boomer generation experiences increased life satisfaction as they grow older.
The rankings are derived from three years’ worth of assessments regarding each population’s quality of life. Experts from various fields attempt to explain the discrepancies between countries and over time by considering factors like GNP, life expectancy, trust in someone, feelings of freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption. Anat Panti, a happiness policy researcher at Bar Ilan University, points out that Israel’s ranking at fifth place in the global report signifies a stable level of life satisfaction in
