The US has fallen to its lowest position ever in the 2025 World Happiness Report, ranking 24th globally, according to data released Wednesday by Gallup and its partners.
The annual report, which ranks 147 countries based on surveys done between 2022 and 2024, measures self-assessed life evaluations and highlights the impact of social connections, trust, and community bonds on well-being.
Finland remained the world's happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, while Mexico and Costa Rica entered the top 10 for the first time since the report's launch in 2012.
Researchers linked the drop in the US ranking to growing social isolation and political polarization.
The report noted that one in four Americans reported eating all of their meals alone in 2023, up 53% since 2003.
The data suggests that shared meals contribute to greater happiness, making this shift a concerning trend.
Additionally, researchers found that the rise in anti-system voting patterns in the US and parts of Europe correlated with declining happiness and trust.
The rankings also showed significant improvements for both Mexico and Costa Rica, with researchers attributing their rise to larger household sizes and stronger family ties.
The report said that Latin American societies, which tend to have larger households, offer valuable lessons for other countries seeking sustainable well-being.
While 23% of European households consist of single individuals, only 11% of households in Mexico fit this category.
The study found that people living in households with four to five members reported the highest average life satisfaction.
Social trust was also identified as a key factor influencing happiness.
The report referenced a 2019 Gallup study in which people were asked whether they believed a lost wallet would be returned if found by a stranger.
The findings indicated that people tend to underestimate the likelihood of the wallet being returned, even though real-world experiments show significantly higher return rates.
Nordic countries, including Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, ranked among the happiest nations and also scored the highest for social trust, including the likelihood of returning lost wallets.
John F. Helliwell, an economist at the University of British Columbia and one of the report's founding editors, emphasized the importance of trust in society.
He stated that the wallet data was particularly convincing because it confirmed that people are much happier when they believe others care about them.
Finland ranked as the happiest country in the world, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Türkiye ranked 94th in the report, placing it in the lower half of the global rankings.
Researchers pointed to economic factors and social challenges as key elements influencing the country's happiness levels.
