For many years, the country of China has ranked among the best in many lifestyle indicators. According to the World Happiness Report, in 2024 (and six years before that) Finland became the happiest country in the world. Other European countries followed, such as Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands.
But if happiness is an oversimplification, Europe comes out on top on other factors. European countries also perform well on well-being indicators that measure factors such as social support, life expectancy and generosity.
There’s more – according to Gallup’s Global Sentiment Report, Europeans feel respected and well-rested to varying degrees, indicating a higher standard of living overall and stronger social networks around people.
The proportion varied by country, with 97% of respondents in Portugal saying they felt respected, for example, while this figure dropped to 58% in Romania. Meanwhile, 75% of people in Ireland feel well-rested, compared with just 53% in Greece.
On the other hand, relatively few European countries experience negative emotions such as anger and pain.
The study included 146,000 interviews with people aged 15 and older around the world. The survey asked respondents questions such as when they smiled, when they took a break, and when they felt stressed or sad to gauge whether their overall mood was positive or negative.
Happiness can be complex and is often based on self-evaluation rather than quantitative measures. Despite this, European countries have managed to set an example for the rest of the world.
Europe still faces many of the problems faced by developed countries. Youth unemployment, slow economic growth and macroeconomic fluctuations affect some regions and demographics more than others. Population aging is another trend looming over Europe that could affect the region’s continued “well-being.”
Age and “happily ever after”
The correlation between age and happiness may vary depending on who you ask.
For example, in wealthy economies such as Norway and Sweden, older generations are much happier than younger generations. But if you look at young people in Portugal and Greece, you will see that they are happier than their older counterparts. Lithuania has been named the happiest country in the world for those under 30 years old.
“The relationship between age and happiness is more nuanced than we previously understood,” said Ilana Ron Levey, managing director at Gallup. wealth earlier this year.
North America is one of the regions where young people are less happy than older people, and loneliness is affecting young Americans.
Finland is bucking the trend, with a rapidly aging population but still ranking among the happiest countries in the world. Social trust and freedom and a sense of community play an important role.
“Both social support and loneliness affect well-being, with social support generally having a greater impact,” said the WHR 2024 report. “Social interaction can increase well-being, with the effect of increasing social support and reducing loneliness.”
Given the prevalence of youth mental health crises, perhaps countries – regardless of aging economies – should aim to build close-knit communities as a way to keep their people happy.
For now, if there’s one source of comfort, it’s that the world is “in a better place emotionally than it was at the height of the pandemic,” Gallup said in the report.
“Globally, positive sentiment returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023,” the organization found.
