World Happiness Report: People in war zones report more happiness than Indians

The 2025 World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in collaboration with Gallup, has revealed interesting insights about global happiness levels. The report used a simple but powerful question to measure happiness: "On which step of a ladder, numbered from 0 (the worst) to 10 (the best), do you feel you stand at this time?" The findings show that Finland has topped the rankings once again, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, maintaining their positions as some of the happiest countries in the world.

The report's theme for this year was 'caring and sharing,' which examined various factors contributing to happiness, including life evaluations, GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make important life decisions, charitable donations, and perceptions of corruption in government and business. It also incorporated data from the Gallup World Poll, which asked people whether they had donated money, volunteered, or helped a stranger in the past month. Additionally, people were surveyed in 2019 about whether they believed a lost wallet would be returned by a stranger, neighbor, or the police.

India, despite showing an improvement from its previous position of 126th in 2022 and 2023, ranked 118th in this year’s happiness index. However, India performed better in some specific categories, ranking 57th for charitable donations, 10th for volunteer work, and 74th for helping strangers. On the other hand, the likelihood of a lost wallet being returned by others ranked India at 115th (for a neighbor), 86th (for a stranger), and 93rd (for the police).

Interestingly, countries facing conflicts and challenges, like Israel, Ukraine, and Palestine, reported higher happiness levels than India. Israel ranked 8th, Ukraine 111th, and Palestine 108th. War-torn Afghanistan had the lowest happiness score, followed by Sierra Leone and Lebanon. The United States saw a decline in its happiness ranking, reaching its lowest ever at 24th.

One of the key takeaways from this year’s report is the growing role of social interactions in happiness. It found that people who often share meals with others tend to be much happier. This highlights the importance of social connections, especially when considering that the number of people eating alone has been rising, contributing to declining wellbeing in countries like the United States.

Another notable trend is that, while acts of kindness surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, they have since declined. However, they still remain over 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels. The report also found that helping strangers has become significantly more common than before, with a global increase of 18%.

In conclusion, the World Happiness Report not only highlights where countries stand in terms of happiness but also underscores the importance of social support, community involvement, and acts of kindness in enhancing wellbeing.