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U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World’s 20 Happiest Countries

Wait, Israeli is #5. You gotta be kidding me! I wonder how the Palestinians over there feel? Probably pretty good (ergo that they're not living in Gaza)?


U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World’s 20 Happiest Countries

A new study shows a drop in Americans’ happiness, especially among younger people


Clare Ansberry, WSJ

March 19, 2024


The U.S. has fallen out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time since a global ranking began in 2012, due in large part to a drop in happiness among younger adults.

Americans fell to 23rd place in happiness, down from 15th a year ago, according to data collected in the Gallup World Poll for the World Happiness Report 2024. Costa Rica and Lithuania were among the countries that reported being happier than Americans,

according to the annual survey, which asks respondents to rate their current lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best possible life for them.


Nordic countries dominate the top 10, with Finland at the top.



Note: The rankings are based on a three-year average of each population’s average assessment of their quality of life.


Source: 2024 World Happiness Report, a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board


In the U.S., self-reported happiness has decreased in all age groups, but especially for young adults. Americans 30 years and younger ranked 62nd globally in terms of well-being, trailing the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Guatemala. Older Americans ranked 10th.

That is a change from a decade ago, when young Americans considered themselves happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those ages 60 and over, says economist John Helliwell, a founding editor of the World Happiness Report, first published in 2012. Now, those 30 and under are the country’s least happy age group, a decline attributed partly to their feeling worse about their lives.


Social connections, gratitude, a sense of purpose and resilience all contribute to well-being and happiness, says Emiliana Simon-Thomas, a neuroscientist and science director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Older adults are often happier because they tend to view life as more finite and precious, are less self-focused and more grateful, she says.


People looking to boost their happiness would be well-served by focusing on strengthening their relationships, which research has found is one of the biggest drivers of happiness. Getting outside in nature can also provide a sense of perspective; exercise can be another good mood booster.


Finding purpose, whether through volunteering or civic engagement, creates a sense of well-being that has enriched the lives of many older adults after retiring.


What’s hurting happiness

The latest happiness report didn’t ask participants to give reasons for their happiness levels. Helliwell and other researchers suspect part of the decline among younger adults reflects their spending less time interacting with people in person than on social media. Other experts in psychology and neurology, and some young Americans themselves, blame worries about money, loneliness and anxiety about their own futures and what is happening in the world around them.


‘I’m not unhappy,’ says E.N. West, who has strong social connections and a rewarding job, but can feel burdened by concerns about the housing crisis, inflation and the war in the Middle East.


E.N. West, a 28-year-old Seattle resident, has a wide and varied group of friends, a strong connection with family, a rewarding job and an apartment, and is generally optimistic, grateful and resilient.


Yet when asked about being happy, West, who uses the pronoun “they,” described feeling neither happy nor unhappy. “The word that comes to mind is ‘burdened.’”

That feeling arises from the immediate tasks of the day or week, but also concerns about larger issues like housing, inflation, war in the Middle East and climate change.


West has noticed more friends feeling hopeless in recent months, because they can’t find apartments in their budget and buy groceries. West and other friends work together to help each other find affordable places to live. Being able to do something, even on a small level to help friends, can make people feel less hopeless and give them a sense of purpose and agency, West says.


A rise in loneliness

Loneliness plays a big role in how people assess their lives, says Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup. “Young people have more social interactions, but feel more lonely” than those 60 and older, says Clifton. They also don’t feel as connected to their jobs, or other institutions, including churches and government.


Luke Gilligan, a college senior, describes himself as grateful and grounded, but can also feel lonely, especially when scrolling through social media.


Luke Gilligan, a 22-year-old at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, rates himself 8 out of 10 for living his best life. The senior entrepreneurship major received an academic scholarship so he doesn’t have to worry about student debt, and after graduation plans to work at a company he founded that makes sensory and activity products for people with dementia.


He describes himself as grounded, but says he is also lonely at times. The feeling stems largely from his choice to run his own company and study rather than go out. Seeing others having fun on social media can leave him feeling left out and jealous, which he believes others also feel when comparing themselves to others online.

Psychologist Karen Cassiday, owner and clinical director of the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago, says the survey results mirror what she is seeing across the country as more young adults showing up at university counseling centers and hospitals. The growing unhappiness among young adults reflects in part the pressure to always be happy and being misled by messages on social media that accumulating wealth and material things will make them content.


What has been the key to happiness in your own life? Join the conversation below.

The happiness study did find some bright spots among young people. Millennials and younger Americans have been increasingly benevolent since the pandemic, according to the World Happiness Report, which also tracked charitable acts like helping a stranger and volunteering by age group.


Dr. Robert Waldinger, a 73-year-old professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, says he has gotten happier as he has gotten older. The same held true in the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a longitudinal study he directs, which found people on average experience better moods as they age.


One of his favorite responses came from a man in his 80s, who said he and his wife enjoy being with each other. “It feels like the last days of a great vacation.”

Write to Clare Ansberry at clare.ansberry@wsj.com


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