Vietnam now ranks 46th out of 147 countries, up 8 places from 54th place last year. This is the highest rank Vietnam has achieved since the report was first published in 2012.
In Asia, Vietnam ranked behind Singapore, in 34th place, but ahead of Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Laos, and India. Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row. At the bottom of the index were Lebanon, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan.
The US dropped to 24th place, its lowest score since the first report. The UK ranked 23rd, its lowest position since 2017. Canada has seen its happiness index decline over the past decade. This year it ranked 18th. Social researchers say declining social trust is keeping the US and several European countries from achieving a higher ranking.
Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time, coming in at 6th and 10th.
The World Happiness Report measures the happiness of people and the well-being of a country. It measures people's satisfaction with their life and living conditions because happiness is a universal human aspiration.
The World Happiness Report 2025 is based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which surveyed people in 140 countries, asking them to rate their overall quality of life, combined with information on GDP per capita, life expectancy, personal freedom, generosity, social support, and corruption.
According to John Helliwell, a member of the report’s compiling board, said, “The most important thing coming out of this report is the importance of human connection.”
Another member named Jeffrey D. Sachs has this to say, “Caring and sharing communities is absolutely essential part of promoting our well-being. One of the things we hope that the World Happiness Report promotes is the skill of living good lives and building happiness in our societies.”