Demographics
Does a City’s Population Size Impact its Quality of Life?
Does a City’s Population Size Impact its Quality of Life?
City living isn’t everyone’s cup of tea—the world’s most populous cities especially can be hectic, noisy, and busy.
Yet, despite the chaos of urban life, cities offer inhabitants a number of comforts and conveniences that are harder to find in smaller towns. That’s why more people are moving into urban areas around the world.
But do these conveniences reflect in people’s quality of lives?
According to research compiled by Elaine Siu, bigger doesn’t always mean better—at least when it comes to population size. This interactive visualization takes a deep dive into this dataset.
Measuring Quality of Life
Siu uses data from Numbeo’s 2022 Quality of Life Index to compare the quality of life in nearly 200 different cities around the world. For the purposes of this research, Siu used cities with metropolitan area populations of over 500,000.
The index measures quality of life using eight different metrics:
- Cost of Living
- Purchasing Power
- Property Price to Income Ratio
- Pollution
- Traffic Commute Time
- Safety
- Healthcare
- Climate
A majority of the metrics (six of the eight) seemed to correlate with population size, suggesting that the bigger a city’s population is, the lower its quality of life in those metrics.
Here’s a look at the full list of cities included in the study, along with their overall quality of life scores and their metro area populations:
City | Quality of Life Index | Metro Area Population |
---|---|---|
Adelaide, Australia | 212.14 | 1,355,522 |
The Hague (Den Haag), Netherlands | 204.88 | 709,388 |
Perth, Australia | 198.37 | 2,092,649 |
Zurich, Switzerland | 198.14 | 1,419,621 |
Basel, Switzerland | 197.58 | 566,503 |
Brisbane, Australia | 196.06 | 2,472,222 |
Charlotte, NC, United States | 194.31 | 2,701,046 |
Seattle, WA, United States | 194.3 | 4,018,762 |
Oklahoma City, OK, United States | 192.79 | 1,441,647 |
Austin, TX, United States | 192.56 | 2,352,426 |
Geneva, Switzerland | 192.15 | 626,618 |
Quebec City, Canada | 192.11 | 837,814 |
Columbus, OH, United States | 191.34 | 2,151,017 |
San Diego, CA, United States | 188.18 | 3,286,069 |
San Antonio, TX, United States | 188.14 | 2,601,788 |
Copenhagen, Denmark | 187.89 | 1,370,131 |
San Jose, CA, United States | 187.16 | 1,952,185 |
Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 185.01 | 548,206 |
Sydney, Australia | 184.52 | 5,056,571 |
Melbourne, Australia | 183.06 | 5,150,766 |
Kansas City, MO, United States | 181.28 | 2,199,490 |
Albuquerque, NM, United States | 181.09 | 918,259 |
Helsinki, Finland | 180.21 | 1,327,762 |
Vienna, Austria | 180.01 | 1,960,023 |
Glasgow, United Kingdom | 179.79 | 1,688,907 |
Gothenburg, Sweden | 179.12 | 624,780 |
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 178.96 | 2,964,382 |
Calgary, Canada | 178.34 | 1,611,475 |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | 178.17 | 1,165,898 |
Ottawa, Canada | 177.09 | 1,422,635 |
Portland, OR, United States | 176.92 | 2,511,612 |
Dallas, TX, United States | 175.71 | 7,759,615 |
Jacksonville, FL, United States | 175.25 | 1,637,666 |
Munich, Germany | 174.98 | 1,566,128 |
Boston, MA, United States | 174.52 | 4,899,932 |
Muscat, Oman | 174.07 | 1,622,620 |
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 173.13 | 1,539,830 |
Frankfurt, Germany | 173.06 | 791,232 |
Vancouver, Canada | 172.66 | 2,631,690 |
Stuttgart, Germany | 172 | 634,740 |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 171.72 | 1,014,675 |
Milwaukee, WI, United States | 171.44 | 1,566,487 |
Edmonton, Canada | 171.23 | 1,518,921 |
Indianapolis, IN, United States | 171.2 | 2,126,804 |
Houston, TX, United States | 170.9 | 7,206,841 |
Valencia, Spain | 170.88 | 836,857 |
Tucson, AZ, United States | 168.76 | 1,052,030 |
Denver, CO, United States | 167.36 | 2,972,566 |
Hamburg, Germany | 166.71 | 1,788,170 |
Vilnius, Lithuania | 165.74 | 540,775 |
Oslo, Norway | 164.94 | 1,071,062 |
Nashville, TN, United States | 164.87 | 2,012,476 |
Bristol, United Kingdom | 164.74 | 700,630 |
Atlanta, GA, United States | 163.99 | 6,144,050 |
Berlin, Germany | 163.74 | 3,570,750 |
Sacramento, CA, United States | 163.54 | 2,411,428 |
Washington, DC, United States | 162.88 | 6,356,434 |
Queretaro, Mexico | 162.06 | 1,389,302 |
Stockholm, Sweden | 161.54 | 1,679,050 |
Auckland, New Zealand | 161 | 1,652,341 |
Cologne, Germany | 160.82 | 1,136,992 |
Baltimore, MD, United States | 160.36 | 2,838,327 |
Tokyo, Japan | 160.27 | 37,274,000 |
Belfast, United Kingdom | 159.26 | 638,717 |
Prague, Czech Republic | 158.87 | 1,318,085 |
San Francisco, CA, United States | 157.57 | 4,623,264 |
Zagreb, Croatia | 157.5 | 684,254 |
Madrid, Spain | 157.33 | 6,713,557 |
Porto, Portugal | 157.26 | 1,320,347 |
Antwerp, Belgium | 155.3 | 1,052,622 |
Toronto, Canada | 155.02 | 6,312,974 |
Singapore, Singapore | 154.54 | 6,039,577 |
Philadelphia, PA, United States | 154.13 | 6,228,601 |
Montreal, Canada | 153.76 | 4,276,526 |
Doha, Qatar | 153.1 | 651,799 |
Phoenix, AZ, United States | 151.95 | 4,946,145 |
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 150.72 | 7,538,200 |
Lisbon, Portugal | 150.09 | 2,986,162 |
Birmingham, United Kingdom | 149.32 | 2,645,598 |
Manama, Bahrain | 148.96 | 688,558 |
Lyon, France | 148.34 | 1,747,575 |
Las Vegas, NV, United States | 148.17 | 2,292,476 |
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel | 147.84 | 4,343,584 |
Manchester, United Kingdom | 147.47 | 2,770,434 |
Riga, Latvia | 145.54 | 624,925 |
Bursa, Turkey | 145.27 | 2,054,748 |
Cape Town, South Africa | 145.05 | 4,800,954 |
Chicago, IL, United States | 144.81 | 9,509,934 |
Jeddah (Jiddah), Saudi Arabia | 144.4 | 4,780,740 |
Barcelona, Spain | 143.73 | 5,658,472 |
Brussels, Belgium | 143.12 | 2,109,631 |
Genoa, Italy | 142.82 | 675,464 |
Coimbatore, India | 142.77 | 2,934,621 |
Hamilton, Canada | 142.74 | 775,751 |
Bangalore, India | 141.67 | 13,193,035 |
Dublin, Ireland | 140.93 | 1,255,963 |
Curitiba, Brazil | 140.07 | 3,770,919 |
Los Angeles, CA, United States | 139.75 | 12,997,353 |
Nizhny Novgorod, Russia | 139.25 | 1,252,917 |
Durban, South Africa | 139.09 | 3,199,329 |
Islamabad, Pakistan | 139 | 1,198,035 |
Bologna, Italy | 139 | 811,707 |
Pune, India | 138.28 | 6,987,077 |
Taipei, Taiwan | 137.81 | 2,742,379 |
New York, NY, United States | 137.32 | 19,768,458 |
Brasilia, Brazil | 135.44 | 4,803,877 |
Winnipeg, Canada | 133.69 | 832,944 |
Pretoria, South Africa | 133.25 | 2,739,768 |
Warsaw, Poland | 133.21 | 1,794,532 |
Detroit, MI, United States | 133.05 | 4,365,205 |
Johannesburg, South Africa | 132.58 | 6,065,354 |
Izmir, Turkey | 131.52 | 3,056,149 |
Turin, Italy | 131.35 | 1,798,471 |
Lviv, Ukraine | 129.85 | 721,383 |
Poznan, Poland | 129.38 | 525,919 |
Wroclaw, Poland | 128.45 | 642,497 |
Guadalajara, Mexico | 128.14 | 5,339,583 |
Chiang Mai, Thailand | 127.81 | 1,197,931 |
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | 127.77 | 1,785,684 |
Budapest, Hungary | 127.23 | 1,775,207 |
Ankara, Turkey | 126.93 | 5,309,690 |
London, United Kingdom | 126.14 | 9,540,576 |
Monterrey, Mexico | 125.76 | 5,036,535 |
Campinas, Brazil | 125.75 | 3,384,564 |
Seoul, South Korea | 125.66 | 9,975,709 |
Lodz, Poland | 124 | 666,032 |
Krakow (Cracow), Poland | 123.44 | 769,595 |
Paris, France | 123.02 | 11,142,303 |
Sofia, Bulgaria | 122.03 | 1,286,789 |
Medellin, Colombia | 121.78 | 4,067,758 |
Montevideo, Uruguay | 119.58 | 1,767,243 |
Yerevan, Armenia | 119.46 | 1,092,028 |
San Juan, Puerto Rico | 118.97 | 2,442,512 |
Florianopolis, Brazil | 118.92 | 1,277,547 |
Milan, Italy | 118.57 | 3,149,223 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 117.7 | 8,419,566 |
Bucharest, Romania | 117.58 | 1,785,294 |
Kuwait City, Kuwait | 116.64 | 3,238,523 |
Athens, Greece | 115.69 | 3,153,781 |
Quito, Ecuador | 115.33 | 1,928,296 |
Thessaloniki, Greece | 115.32 | 813,793 |
San Jose, Costa Rica | 115.02 | 1,441,324 |
Chennai, India | 114.51 | 11,503,293 |
Amman, Jordan | 114.37 | 2,209,584 |
Ahmedabad, India | 113.04 | 8,450,228 |
Hyderabad, India | 112.53 | 10,534,418 |
Tbilisi, Georgia | 112.19 | 1,080,349 |
Panama City, Panama | 110.94 | 1,937,963 |
Rome, Italy | 109.98 | 4,297,877 |
Belgrade, Serbia | 109.82 | 1,405,192 |
Kharkiv, Ukraine | 109.51 | 1,423,343 |
Shenzhen, China | 109.11 | 12,831,330 |
Baku, Azerbaijan | 109.1 | 2,401,108 |
Moscow, Russia | 108.32 | 12,640,818 |
Minsk, Belarus | 107.79 | 2,048,574 |
Porto Alegre, Brazil | 107.74 | 4,185,488 |
Belo Horizonte, Brazil | 107.2 | 6,194,292 |
Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine | 106.88 | 3,010,209 |
Odessa (Odesa), Ukraine | 106.41 | 1,007,989 |
Lahore, Pakistan | 106.01 | 13,541,764 |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong | 103.85 | 7,643,256 |
Santiago, Chile | 103.1 | 6,856,939 |
Skopje, North Macedonia | 101.02 | 605,996 |
Kolkata, India | 99.37 | 15,133,888 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina | 99.23 | 15,369,919 |
Saint Petersburg, Russia | 97.91 | 5,535,556 |
Dnipro, Ukraine | 97.76 | 946,574 |
Istanbul, Turkey | 96.13 | 15,636,243 |
Guatemala City, Guatemala | 95.46 | 3,036,405 |
Yekaterinburg, Russia | 94.29 | 1,521,136 |
Hanoi, Vietnam | 93.75 | 5,067,352 |
Mumbai, India | 89.39 | 20,961,472 |
Bogota, Colombia | 88.27 | 11,344,312 |
Tirana, Albania | 88.09 | 511,559 |
Mexico City, Mexico | 85.94 | 22,085,140 |
Almaty, Kazakhstan | 84.53 | 1,958,135 |
Recife, Brazil | 83.22 | 4,220,458 |
Nairobi, Kenya | 81.75 | 5,118,844 |
Novosibirsk, Russia | 81.71 | 1,686,236 |
Cairo, Egypt | 81.6 | 21,750,020 |
Karachi, Pakistan | 79.91 | 16,839,950 |
Bangkok, Thailand | 79.74 | 10,899,698 |
Sao Paulo, Brazil | 78.54 | 22,429,800 |
Kathmandu, Nepal | 78.08 | 1,521,057 |
Lima, Peru | 77.67 | 11,044,607 |
Delhi, India | 77.27 | 32,065,760 |
Shanghai, China | 76.62 | 28,516,904 |
Jakarta, Indonesia | 74.13 | 11,074,811 |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 70.28 | 13,634,274 |
Caracas, Venezuela | 69.32 | 2,956,813 |
Colombo, Sri Lanka | 66.85 | 625,637 |
Beirut, Lebanon | 66.54 | 2,433,155 |
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 66.41 | 9,077,158 |
Beijing, China | 58.96 | 21,333,332 |
Tehran, Iran | 56.28 | 9,381,546 |
Dhaka, Bangladesh | 56.18 | 22,478,116 |
Lagos, Nigeria | 48.22 | 15,387,639 |
Manila, Philippines | 46.08 | 14,406,059 |
It’s worth noting that the negative correlation between the quality of life and population size only appeared in cities above the median population of 2.4 million people, indicating that the size of a city doesn’t appear to impact quality of life until a certain tipping point. Then, above the median, there’s a blatant downward trend.
However, Tokyo is an anomaly—its quality of life is much higher than it’s metropolitan population would predict.
Zooming in on Tokyo
Despite being the world’s largest urban area, Tokyo compares favorably compared to other top megacities across the index. When ranked among the top five megacities, it places in first for Purchasing Power, Safety, Traffic Commute Time, Cost of Living, Healthcare, and Pollution.
What’s so special about Tokyo? One major thing going for the Japanese city is its immaculate public transport system. The city’s transport is so efficient, the city’s rail service once issued a public apology after a train left the station 25 seconds earlier than its scheduled departure.
Another factor that makes Tokyo so livable is its relatively affordable housing, at least compared to other big cities like New York and Hong Kong. This is partly because of the city’s flexible land zoning system, which makes it relatively easy for developers to build housing and mix-use communities.
As our world becomes increasingly more urbanized, and cities around the world continue to increase in size, will they be able to emulate Tokyo’s growth? And if not, what other city design trends and innovations can cities utilize to raise quality of live?

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Demographics
Mapped: The World’s Happiest Countries in 2023
Where do the happiest people on earth live? This map is a snapshot of the world’s most (and least) happy countries in 2023.

The World’s Happiest Countries in 2023
Measuring subjective ideas like happiness and life satisfaction is tricky business.
Are wealth and prosperity legitimate measures of happiness? How about safety and health outcomes? In the West, we view democracy as a key component to happiness, yet there are countries under authoritarian rule that score high in the Happiness Index. Questions like these make “ranking happiness” a particularly challenging puzzle, but also one worth pursuing. If policymakers have a clearer picture of what conditions can foster happiness, they can enact policies that can improve the lives of people living their jurisdictions.
The map above is a global snapshot of life satisfaction around the world. It utilizes the World Happiness Report—an annual survey of how satisfied citizens are worldwide—to map out the world’s happiest and least happy countries.
To create the index the map is based on, researchers simply asked people how satisfied they are with their lives. Scores were assigned using these self-reported answers from people living within various countries, as well as quality of life factors. While there may be no perfect measure of happiness around the world, the report is a robust and transparent attempt to understand happiness at the global level. For more detailed notes on the report’s methodology and more, we recommend viewing the info box at the end of this article.
Now, let’s look at the world’s happiest countries in 2023.
Global Happiness, by Country
Global happiness currently averages out to 5.5 out of 10, a decrease of 0.1 from last year. Below is a look at every country’s score:
Rank | Country | Score |
---|---|---|
#1 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 7.8 |
#2 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 7.6 |
#3 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 7.5 |
#4 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 7.5 |
#5 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 7.4 |
#6 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 7.4 |
#7 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 7.3 |
#8 | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 7.2 |
#9 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 7.2 |
#10 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 7.1 |
#11 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 7.1 |
#12 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 7.1 |
#13 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 7.0 |
#14 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 6.9 |
#15 | 🇺🇸 United States | 6.9 |
#16 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 6.9 |
#17 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 6.9 |
#18 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 6.8 |
#19 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 6.8 |
#20 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 6.8 |
#21 | 🇫🇷 France | 6.7 |
#22 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 6.7 |
#23 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 6.6 |
#24 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 6.6 |
#25 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 6.6 |
#26 | 🇦🇪 UAE | 6.6 |
#27 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 6.5 |
#28 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 6.5 |
#29 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 6.5 |
#30 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 6.5 |
#31 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 6.5 |
#32 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 6.4 |
#33 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 6.4 |
#34 | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | 6.4 |
#35 | 🇨🇱 Chile | 6.3 |
#36 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 6.3 |
#37 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 6.3 |
#38 | 🇵🇦 Panama | 6.3 |
#39 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 6.3 |
#40 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 6.3 |
#41 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 6.2 |
#42 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 6.2 |
#43 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 6.2 |
#44 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 6.1 |
#44 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 6.1 |
#46 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 6.1 |
#47 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 6.1 |
#48 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 6.1 |
#49 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 6.1 |
#50 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 6.1 |
#51 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 6.0 |
#52 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 6.0 |
#53 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 6.0 |
#54 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 6.0 |
#55 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 6.0 |
#56 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 6.0 |
#57 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 6.0 |
#58 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 5.9 |
#59 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 5.9 |
#60 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 5.8 |
#61 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 5.8 |
#62 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 5.8 |
#63 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 5.8 |
#64 | 🇨🇳 China | 5.8 |
#65 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 5.8 |
#66 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | 5.7 |
#67 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 5.7 |
#68 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 5.7 |
#69 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 5.7 |
#70 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 5.7 |
#71 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.6 |
#72 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 5.6 |
#73 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 5.6 |
#74 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 5.6 |
#75 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 5.5 |
#76 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 5.5 |
#77 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 5.5 |
#78 | 🇳🇵Nepal | 5.4 |
#79 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 5.3 |
#80 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 5.3 |
#81 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 5.3 |
#82 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR | 5.3 |
#83 | 🇦🇱 Albania | 5.3 |
#83 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 5.3 |
#85 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 5.3 |
#86 | 🇨🇬 Congo | 5.3 |
#87 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 5.3 |
#88 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 5.2 |
#89 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 5.1 |
#90 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 5.1 |
#91 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 5.1 |
#92 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 5.1 |
#93 | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | 5.1 |
#94 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 5.1 |
#95 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 5.0 |
#96 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 5.0 |
#97 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 5.0 |
#98 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 5.0 |
#99 | 🇵🇸 Palestine | 5.0 |
#100 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | 5.0 |
#101 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 5.0 |
#102 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 4.9 |
#103 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 4.7 |
#104 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 4.6 |
#105 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 4.6 |
#106 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 4.6 |
#107 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 4.6 |
#108 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 4.6 |
#109 | 🇳🇪 Niger | 4.5 |
#110 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 4.5 |
#111 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 4.5 |
#112 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 4.4 |
#113 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 4.4 |
#114 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 4.4 |
#115 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 4.4 |
#116 | 🇧🇯 Benin | 4.4 |
#117 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 4.4 |
#118 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 4.3 |
#119 | 🇬🇲 Gambia | 4.3 |
#120 | 🇲🇱 Mali | 4.2 |
#121 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 4.2 |
#122 | 🇹🇬 Togo | 4.1 |
#123 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 4.1 |
#124 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 4.1 |
#125 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 4.0 |
#126 | 🇮🇳 India | 4.0 |
#127 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 4.0 |
#128 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 4.0 |
#129 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 3.7 |
#130 | 🇰🇲 Comoros | 3.5 |
#131 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 3.5 |
#132 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 3.4 |
#133 | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.2 |
#134 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 3.2 |
#135 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 3.1 |
#136 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 2.4 |
#137 | Afghanistan | 1.9 |
Note: Scores have been rounded to the first decimal place.
European countries make up the bulk of the top 10, with Israel (#4) and New Zealand (#10) also making it into the top ranks. Finland sits at the very top of the ranking for the sixth year in a row.
Now let’s look at the world’s happiest countries on a more regional basis.
North America
Current Mood: Happy (6.3)
North America’s happiness score averages out to 6.3/10. The happiest country in the region is Canada, slightly beating out the United States. However, the scores of both countries have actually decreased from last year. It’s difficult to pinpoint why citizens feel less satisfied, but inflation, economic uncertainty, and many other factors could play a role.
The only countries to see improvement in North America were Nicaragua and Jamaica. Although a more recent development, many Jamaicans could be experiencing even more happiness in the near future, with a recent announcement of plans to increase the minimum wage by 44%.
South America
Current Mood: Content (5.8)
South America’s average score is 5.8. Although Venezuela is the continent’s least happy country, its score actually improved from 4.9 to 5.2. That said, the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis is not likely to instill much hope into the average Venezuelan. Over 6.8 million people have fled the struggling nation since 2014.
The two countries in the region with decreased scores were Brazil and Colombia, where citizens have reported feeling worse compared to the year before.
Europe
Current Mood: Happy (6.4)
Europe has some of the world’s happiest countries, with an average regional score of 6.4. Nordic countries like Finland, Sweden, and Iceland repeatedly report high scores, meaning people in these countries feel extremely satisfied with their lives.
Despite fending off an invasion, Ukrainians saw no diminishment of their happiness year-over-year, and many are feeling resilient and purposeful in their fight for freedom. Interestingly, Russia’s score actually increased slightly compared to last year, going from 5.5 to 5.7.
East Asia and Oceania
Current Mood: Neutral (5.6)
East Asia and Oceania’s collective average is 5.6. Oceania alone, however, would have the highest regional score in the world, at 7.1.
Bucking conventional wisdom—at least in the West—China has seen a noteworthy bump (+0.6) in its score in recent years. Across the strait, Taiwan records the second highest score in East Asia, after Singapore.
India once again has the lowest happiness score in its region. The country’s score has dropped -0.7 over the past decade.
Central Asia and The Middle East
Current Mood: It’s Complicated (5.2)
The average score in the Middle East and Central Asia is 5.2, and the array of happiness scores is wider than in any other region.
Afghanistan is the world’s least happy country, with citizens having reported extremely low levels of life satisfaction. Since the Taliban takeover, life has become objectively worse for Afghans, particularly women.
There is a lot of conflict in the region. Citizens of Armenia face particular tension with neighboring Azerbaijan, whose score was not recorded for this year. Conflicts in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have led to hundreds of deaths since 2020 and cause daily struggle for those who live in the disputed territory. Iran is still under economic sanctions and faces ongoing tensions with the U.S. and Israel. Some countries, like Syria and Yemen, are so destabilized that no data is available.
Still, there are bright spots as well. Israel has one of the world’s happiest countries with a top 10 score this year, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE have scores on par with many European countries.
Africa
Current Mood: Unhappy (4.4)
The least happy region, Africa, averages out to a score of 4.4, and there is a lot of regional variation.
The highest score in Africa goes to the island nation of Mauritius. In addition to the country’s natural beauty and stability, there is growing economic opportunity. Mauritius is classified as an upper-middle-income country by World Bank, and is one of the fastest growing high-income markets in the world.
Sierra Leone has the lowest score of African countries that were included in the index, followed by Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s worth noting, there are a few data gaps in the region, including Burundi, which is currently the poorest country in the world.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The World Happiness Report which leverages data from the Gallup World Poll.
Methodology: A nationally representative group of approximately 1,000 people is asked a series of questions relating to their life satisfaction, as well as positive and negative emotions they are experiencing. The life evaluation question is based on the Cantril ladder, wherein the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for a person (a score of 10/10) and on the flipside, the worst possible life (scored as 0/10). The main takeaway is that the scores result from self-reported answers by citizens of each of these countries. The results received a confidence interval of 95%, meaning that there is a 95% chance that the answers and population surveyed represent the average. As well, scores are averaged over the past three years in order to increase the sample size of respondents in each country.
Criticisms: Critics of the World Happiness Report point out that survey questions measure satisfaction with socioeconomic conditions as opposed to individual emotional happiness. As well, there are myriad cultural differences around the world that influence how people think about happiness and life satisfaction. Finally, there can be big differences in life satisfaction between groups within a country, which are averaged out even in a nationally representative group. The report does acknowledge inequality as a factor by measuring the “gap” between the most and least happy halves of each country.
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