The World Happiness Report for the past year has landed, and we couldn’t be HAPPIER about the results. The Netherlands climbs one spot higher, from 6th to 5th place.
With stroopwafels and frietjes at the tip of your fingers, how could anyone be unhappy?
Saying that, 2024 was also the year of a new right-wing Dutch government, countless train cancellations and breakdown-inducing house prices…
Which countries are the happiest?
Finland keeps its crown as the happiest country for an incredible eighth year in a row. š
As expected, the top five happiest countries are dominated by Scandinavian nations, just like in previous years.
The top ten happiest countries are:
| Ranking | Country |
| 1 | Finland š«š® |
| 2 | Denmark š©š° |
| 3 | Iceland š®šø |
| 4 | Sweden šøšŖ |
| 5 | The Netherlands š³š± |
| 6 | Costa Rica šØš· |
| 7 | Norway š³š“ |
| 8 | Israel š®š± |
| 9 | Luxembourg š±šŗ |
| 10 | Mexico š²š½ |
Conversely, countries like Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Lebanon are ranked at the bottom, reflecting challenges in happiness.
What makes people happy?
Measuring happiness might seem tricky, but researchers have identified key factors like social support, income, life expectancy, freedom and corruption levels.
Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report’s editors, explains that āhappiness is rooted in trust, kindness and social connectedness.ā
Another editor, Lara Aknin, adds that āhuman happiness is driven by our relationships with othersā and āinvesting in positive social connections and engaging in benevolent actions are both associated with happiness.ā
Who’s counting?
The rankings are based on a thousand inhabitants per country.
While thatās a pretty good number, biological psychologist and happiness professor, Mieke Bartels tells NU.nl that āit is āonlyā a thousand people. So it is an average,ā also pointing out that the differences between countries in the top ten are not very big.
READ MORE | The Dutch mindset: 5 secrets to the Dutchiesā happiness
Still, the Netherlands remains among the happiest places on earth ā just walk outside. People singing on their bikes and sipping koffie by the canals. What more could you ask for?
Which country did you feel the happiest in? Do you think this ranking is accurate to your experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
As a Dutchie I never believed our spot on the international happiness list. Although I am a happy person, I am not happy at all with the state of our country and the state of the world. I also want to mention another report from over a decade ago which was around the time the Netherlands was on the first place on the international happiness list, which showed the other side of the coin, the international depression list, which shown the Netherlands in the top 3 of most depression.