World Happiness Report 2025: India ranked 118 among 147 countries
Report
4 min read
India has been ranked as the 118th happiest country in the world amongst the 147 countries surveyed in the latest World Happiness Report 2025. India which was ranked 126 last year has climbed by 8 positions in the latest report.
Finland retained its status as the happiest country in the world while Afghanistan was ranked as the most unhappy country in the world.
The 13th edition of the World Happiness Report was released on 20th March 2025 coinciding with the International Day of Happiness that falls on 20th March each year.
Who releases the World Happiness Report?
The annual World Happiness Report is published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The first report was released in 2012 after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in April 2011 recognising the pursuit of Happiness as a measure of social and economic development.
Methodology Used
The countries are ranked in the Happiness Index based on a survey conducted by the American multinational analytics company Gallup. It asks around 1000 people in a country to rate their life on a score of 0 to 10.
The responses of the people are modelled on six variables; Having someone to count on, GDP per capita, life expectancy, Freedom to make life choices, Generosity, and Freedom from corruption.
Rank of India
India has been ranked at 118 in the 2025 report. India has been ranked below Nepal (92), Pakistan (109) while it was ahead of Sri Lanka(133) and Bangladesh (134).
War-torn nations like Israel ranked 8th and Ukraine ranked 111th are more happy than India as per the report.
Finland the Happiest country for the 8th consecutive time
Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the 8th consecutive time. Afghanistan was ranked at the bottom as the most unhappy country in the world, with Sierra Leone at 146th and Lebanon at 145th rank.
The United States slipped to its lowest-ever position in the happiness ranking at 24. Last year, it dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since 2012.
Top 10 ranked Happiest Country
Following is the list of the top 10 Happiest Countries in 2024 as per the 2025 World Happiness Report.
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
