The Happiest Countries in the World 2023

For the sixth year in a row, Finland has claimed the top spot in the World Happiness Report. The annual report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, surveys residents in over 150 countries to determine which nations are the happiest.

The report asks a “nationally-representative” sample of people in each country how satisfied they are with their lives lately. Six key variables are used to measure happiness in the survey: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.

Surprisingly, “Average happiness and our country rankings, for emotions as well as life evaluations, have been remarkably stable during the three COVID-19 years,” said John Helliwell, one of the authors of the World Happiness Report. 

Helliwell marvels, “Even during these difficult years, positive emotions have remained twice as prevalent as negative ones, and feelings of positive social support twice as strong as those of loneliness.”

For your best chance of finding happiness, you’ll want to head to the Nordic countries—Finland, Denmark, and Iceland took the top three spots as the happiest countries for 2023.

Europe as a whole dominates the top 10 spots on the list, so plan a trip to the continent for a joyful vacation.

The World’s 20 Happiest Countries 2023

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Israel
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Norway
8. Switzerland
9. Luxembourg
10. New Zealand
11. Austria
12. Australia
13. Canada
14. Ireland
15. United States
16. Germany
17. Belgium
18. Czech Republic
19. United Kingdom
20. Lithuania