These Are the Happiest Countries on Earth

Happiness may be subjective, but each year The World Happiness Report attempts to quantify the emotional state. To see which countries foster the best mental wellbeing in 2023, check out the map below. 

Visualcapitalist.com based this graphic on the latest World Happiness Report [PDF], which pulls its data from the Gallup World Poll. To rank countries by happiness levels, survey takers asked representative groups from each nation about their experiences with positive emotions, negative emotions, and overall life satisfaction.

In this visual interpretation, maximum happiness is represented in orange and sadness in blue. Purple is used to represent the populations that fall in the middle of the spectrum. You can view a larger version of the image here.

According to the report, Finland is the happiest country on Earth, with an overall happiness score of 7.8 out of 10. It’s joined at the top of the list with its fellow Nordic nations Denmark and Iceland. The only non-European countries to break the top 10 are Israel in the fourth slot and New Zealand in 10th place.

The United States earns a happiness score of 6.9, which is a decrease from the previous year. But Americans don’t necessarily need to move abroad to boost their life satisfaction. If you’re looking for a change without leaving the country, here are the happiest states in the U.S.