Demographics
Top 20 Countries Where Young People Are the Happiest
See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.
Top 20 Countries Where Young People Are the Happiest
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
This graphic ranks the top 20 countries where young people are the happiest, based on the findings of the World Happiness Report (WHR) 2024. Young people in this context are those aged under 30.
This report was produced by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board.
Data and Methodology
The results we used to create this graphic are also listed in the table below.
| Country | Happiness Rank (Age below 30) | Overall Happiness Rank (All ages) | Rank Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 1 | 19 | -18 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 3 | 37 | -34 |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 7 | 1 | +6 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 8 | 32 | -24 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 9 | 6 | +3 |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | 10 | 18 | -8 |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 11 | 12 | -1 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 12 | 14 | -2 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 13 | 9 | +4 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 14 | 63 | -49 |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 15 | 21 | -6 |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 16 | 13 | +3 |
| 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 17 | 33 | -16 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 18 | 4 | +14 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 19 | 10 | +9 |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 20 | 7 | +13 |
According to the WHR, scores are based on respondents’ own assessments of their lives, which were measured by their answer to the single-item Cantril Ladder life-evaluation question.
The Cantril Ladder is a commonly utilized gauge of life satisfaction, where individuals assess their lives by envisioning a ladder that symbolizes their spectrum from the least desirable to the most desirable possible life.
Central and Southeastern Europe Ranks Highly
One takeaway from this year’s ranking is that young people in Central and Southeastern Europe are among the happiest in the world, with Lithuania taking the top spot.
Lithuania’s quality of life has grown substantially over the past two decades. For example, in the year 2000, the country’s GDP per capita was below the global average. As of 2022, its GDP per capita is now $25,064, significantly higher than the global average of $12,687.
Other countries from these regions that placed in the top 10 include Serbia (3rd) and Romania (8th).
Diverging Happiness Between the Young & Old
A common theme among the three aforementioned countries is how happiness has diverged between their young and old populations.
Serbia, which ranked 3rd when looking at those under 30 years old, is ranked 37th overall. When looking at only the country’s senior population (60+), Serbia ranks 54th.
One possible reason for this divergence is the rapid advancement of technology and the economic opportunities it offers to younger generations.
See More Graphics About Global Happiness
Be sure to check out our global map graphic summarizing the results of the World Happiness Report 2024.
Demographics
The Countries That Have Become Sadder Since 2010
Tracking Gallup survey data for more than a decade reveals some countries are witnessing big happiness declines, reflecting their shifting socio-economic conditions.
The Countries That Have Become Sadder Since 2010
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Can happiness be quantified?
Some approaches that try to answer this question make a distinction between two differing components of happiness: a daily experience part, and a more general life evaluation (which includes how people think about their life as a whole).
The World Happiness Report—first launched in 2012—has been making a serious go at quantifying happiness, by examining Gallup poll data that asks respondents in nearly every country to evaluate their life on a 0–10 scale. From this they extrapolate a single “happiness score” out of 10 to compare how happy (or unhappy) countries are.
More than a decade later, the 2024 World Happiness Report continues the mission. Its latest findings also include how some countries have become sadder in the intervening years.
Which Countries Have Become Unhappier Since 2010?
Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in the world right now, and is also 60% unhappier than over a decade ago, indicating how much life has worsened since 2010.
In 2021, the Taliban officially returned to power in Afghanistan, after nearly two decades of American occupation in the country. The Islamic fundamentalist group has made life harder, especially for women, who are restricted from pursuing higher education, travel, and work.
On a broader scale, the Afghan economy has suffered post-Taliban takeover, with various consequent effects: mass unemployment, a drop in income, malnutrition, and a crumbling healthcare system.
| Rank | Country | Happiness Score Loss (2010–24) | 2024 Happiness Score (out of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | -2.6 | 1.7 |
| 2 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | -2.3 | 2.7 |
| 3 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | -1.5 | 4.2 |
| 4 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | -1.3 | 5.6 |
| 5 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | -1.2 | 3.4 |
| 6 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | -1.2 | 3.5 |
| 7 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | -1.2 | 3.4 |
| 8 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | -1.0 | 3.6 |
| 9 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | -1.0 | 4.0 |
| 10 | 🇮🇳 India | -0.9 | 4.1 |
| 11 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | -0.9 | 3.9 |
| 12 | 🇨🇩 DRC | -0.7 | 3.3 |
| 13 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | -0.7 | 4.4 |
| 14 | 🇨🇦 Canada | -0.6 | 6.9 |
| 15 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | -0.6 | 6.7 |
| 16 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | -0.5 | 5.7 |
| 17 | 🇵🇦 Panama | -0.5 | 6.4 |
| 18 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | -0.5 | 4.7 |
| 19 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | -0.5 | 3.3 |
| 20 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | -0.5 | 6.8 |
| N/A | 🌍 World | +0.1 | 5.5 |
Nine countries in total saw their happiness score drop by a full point or more, on the 0–10 scale.
Noticeably, many of them have seen years of social and economic upheaval. Lebanon, for example, has been grappling with decades of corruption, and a severe liquidity crisis since 2019 that has resulted in a banking system collapse, sending poverty levels skyrocketing.
In Jordan, unprecedented population growth—from refugees leaving Iraq and Syria—has aggravated unemployment rates. A somewhat abrupt change in the line of succession has also raised concerns about political stability in the country.
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