World Happiness Report - 2022

Home Categories Society World Happiness Report – 2022

World Happiness Report - 2022

The World Happiness Report 2022, developed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network in partnership with Gallup and Oxford University, delivers a comprehensive assessment of well-being in 146 countries. Marking the 10th anniversary of the report, the 2022 edition reflects on a decade of global happiness data, with a renewed focus on benevolence, resilience, and the social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reaffirm that societal trust, strong social networks, and generous behaviour have become even more critical to happiness during turbulent times. Gallup World Poll results show that countries where people reported higher levels of helping, donating, and volunteering also saw stronger life satisfaction scores.

Results
Definitions
Visualisation
Details

Rank	Country	Happiness score	Whisker-high	Whisker-low	Dystopia (1.83) + residual	Explained by: GDP per capita	Explained by: Social support	Explained by: Healthy life expectancy	Explained by: Freedom to make life choices	Explained by: Generosity	Explained by: Perceptions of corruption
1	Finland	7.82	7.89	7.76	2.518	1.892	1.258	0.775	0.736	0.109	0.534
2	Denmark	7.64	7.71	7.56	2.226	1.953	1.243	0.777	0.719	0.188	0.532
3	Iceland	7.56	7.65	7.46	2.320	1.936	1.320	0.803	0.718	0.270	0.191
4	Switzerland	7.51	7.59	7.44	2.153	2.026	1.226	0.822	0.677	0.147	0.461
5	Netherlands	7.42	7.47	7.36	2.137	1.945	1.206	0.787	0.651	0.271	0.419
6	Luxembourg*	7.40	7.50	7.31	2.042	2.209	1.155	0.790	0.700	0.120	0.388
7	Sweden	7.38	7.45	7.32	2.003	1.920	1.204	0.803	0.724	0.218	0.512
8	Norway	7.37	7.44	7.29	1.925	1.997	1.239	0.786	0.728	0.217	0.474
9	Israel	7.36	7.43	7.30	2.634	1.826	1.221	0.818	0.568	0.155	0.143
10	New Zealand	7.20	7.28	7.12	1.954	1.852	1.235	0.752	0.680	0.245	0.483
11	Austria	7.16	7.24	7.09	2.148	1.931	1.165	0.774	0.623	0.193	0.329
12	Australia	7.16	7.24	7.08	2.011	1.900	1.203	0.772	0.676	0.258	0.341
13	Ireland	7.04	7.12	6.96	1.743	2.129	1.166	0.779	0.627	0.190	0.408
14	Germany	7.03	7.12	6.95	2.142	1.924	1.088	0.776	0.585	0.163	0.358
15	Canada	7.03	7.11	6.94	1.924	1.886	1.188	0.783	0.659	0.217	0.368
16	United States	6.98	7.07	6.89	2.214	1.982	1.182	0.628	0.574	0.220	0.177
17	United Kingdom	6.94	7.02	6.87	1.967	1.867	1.143	0.750	0.597	0.289	0.329
18	Czechia	6.92	7.03	6.81	2.263	1.815	1.260	0.715	0.660	0.158	0.048
19	Belgium	6.81	6.89	6.72	2.283	1.907	1.106	0.764	0.492	0.049	0.204
20	France	6.69	6.76	6.62	1.895	1.863	1.219	0.808	0.567	0.070	0.266
21	Bahrain	6.65	6.78	6.51	2.092	1.854	1.029	0.625	0.693	0.199	0.155
22	Slovenia	6.63	6.72	6.54	1.885	1.810	1.249	0.769	0.685	0.118	0.115
23	Costa Rica	6.58	6.68	6.48	2.346	1.584	1.054	0.744	0.661	0.089	0.102
24	United Arab Emirates	6.58	6.66	6.49	1.809	1.998	0.980	0.633	0.702	0.204	0.250
25	Saudi Arabia	6.52	6.64	6.41	2.075	1.870	1.092	0.577	0.651	0.078	0.180
26	Taiwan Province of China	6.51	6.60	6.43	2.002	1.897	1.095	0.733	0.542	0.075	0.168
27	Singapore	6.48	6.57	6.39	0.932	2.149	1.127	0.851	0.672	0.163	0.587
28	Romania	6.48	6.58	6.38	2.446	1.719	1.006	0.655	0.605	0.039	0.006
29	Spain	6.48	6.56	6.39	1.893	1.808	1.211	0.808	0.505	0.101	0.149
30	Uruguay	6.47	6.56	6.39	1.974	1.615	1.180	0.672	0.665	0.103	0.265
31	Italy	6.47	6.57	6.36	2.222	1.834	1.052	0.801	0.412	0.085	0.059
32	Kosovo	6.46	6.57	6.34	2.631	1.362	0.949	0.569	0.599	0.309	0.035
33	Malta	6.45	6.54	6.36	1.631	1.838	1.169	0.789	0.679	0.174	0.166
34	Lithuania	6.45	6.54	6.36	2.153	1.804	1.204	0.659	0.496	0.053	0.077
35	Slovakia	6.39	6.48	6.31	2.094	1.736	1.232	0.707	0.479	0.118	0.025
36	Estonia	6.34	6.42	6.27	1.442	1.793	1.232	0.728	0.689	0.123	0.333
37	Panama	6.31	6.46	6.15	2.086	1.715	1.107	0.709	0.592	0.049	0.051
38	Brazil	6.29	6.38	6.20	2.361	1.462	1.044	0.615	0.546	0.131	0.134
39	Guatemala*	6.26	6.46	6.06	2.746	1.274	0.831	0.522	0.662	0.112	0.115
40	Kazakhstan	6.23	6.33	6.14	1.860	1.668	1.220	0.611	0.584	0.134	0.157
41	Cyprus	6.22	6.32	6.12	2.044	1.815	0.909	0.819	0.448	0.123	0.062
42	Latvia	6.18	6.26	6.11	1.923	1.732	1.221	0.637	0.502	0.075	0.090
43	Serbia	6.18	6.29	6.06	2.031	1.550	1.086	0.658	0.546	0.219	0.088
44	Chile	6.17	6.26	6.08	2.040	1.651	1.080	0.748	0.460	0.124	0.069
45	Nicaragua	6.17	6.31	6.02	2.418	1.105	1.029	0.617	0.617	0.168	0.212
46	Mexico	6.13	6.24	6.02	2.239	1.552	0.886	0.623	0.621	0.092	0.115
47	Croatia	6.13	6.23	6.02	1.884	1.705	1.183	0.709	0.535	0.109	0.000
48	Poland	6.12	6.21	6.04	1.693	1.758	1.174	0.712	0.523	0.124	0.140
49	El Salvador	6.12	6.25	5.99	2.514	1.265	0.768	0.607	0.666	0.089	0.212
50	Kuwait*	6.11	6.24	5.98	1.621	1.904	0.983	0.747	0.617	0.087	0.147
51	Hungary	6.09	6.19	5.99	1.812	1.748	1.233	0.668	0.485	0.078	0.064
52	Mauritius	6.07	6.18	5.96	1.969	1.591	1.116	0.568	0.589	0.131	0.107
53	Uzbekistan	6.06	6.18	5.95	1.913	1.219	1.092	0.600	0.716	0.283	0.240
54	Japan	6.04	6.12	5.96	1.487	1.835	1.089	0.866	0.537	0.007	0.218
55	Honduras	6.02	6.19	5.86	2.611	1.111	0.885	0.555	0.582	0.202	0.076
56	Portugal	6.02	6.12	5.91	1.691	1.760	1.078	0.777	0.655	0.016	0.039
57	Argentina	5.97	6.09	5.84	1.891	1.592	1.102	0.662	0.555	0.081	0.085
58	Greece	5.95	6.04	5.85	2.119	1.703	0.980	0.774	0.249	0.015	0.108
59	South Korea	5.94	6.02	5.85	1.656	1.851	0.886	0.841	0.414	0.111	0.176
60	Philippines	5.90	6.01	5.80	2.283	1.268	0.912	0.514	0.678	0.107	0.142
61	Thailand	5.89	5.99	5.79	1.600	1.535	1.096	0.697	0.617	0.321	0.026
62	Moldova	5.86	5.95	5.77	2.142	1.417	1.008	0.597	0.561	0.102	0.028
63	Jamaica	5.85	6.02	5.68	2.164	1.296	1.045	0.646	0.567	0.080	0.053
64	Kyrgyzstan	5.83	5.92	5.74	2.087	1.069	1.109	0.638	0.693	0.208	0.025
65	Belarus*	5.82	5.95	5.69	1.811	1.562	1.157	0.629	0.342	0.040	0.282
66	Colombia	5.78	5.90	5.66	1.971	1.452	0.929	0.720	0.545	0.087	0.077
67	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5.77	5.88	5.66	1.869	1.468	1.068	0.665	0.448	0.244	0.006
68	Mongolia	5.76	5.85	5.68	1.999	1.393	1.197	0.467	0.398	0.247	0.059
69	Dominican Republic	5.74	5.87	5.60	1.751	1.538	1.003	0.577	0.606	0.084	0.179
70	Malaysia	5.71	5.85	5.58	1.471	1.689	0.938	0.620	0.654	0.213	0.126
71	Bolivia	5.60	5.71	5.49	2.107	1.256	0.880	0.555	0.627	0.112	0.064
72	China	5.59	5.65	5.52	1.516	1.508	0.958	0.705	0.656	0.099	0.142
73	Paraguay	5.58	5.69	5.47	1.555	1.409	1.130	0.624	0.629	0.171	0.059
74	Peru	5.56	5.68	5.44	1.890	1.397	0.865	0.735	0.545	0.090	0.037
75	Montenegro	5.55	5.68	5.41	1.619	1.573	1.023	0.659	0.460	0.135	0.077
76	Ecuador	5.53	5.65	5.41	1.866	1.352	0.879	0.708	0.565	0.080	0.083
77	Vietnam	5.49	5.57	5.40	1.735	1.252	0.932	0.611	0.707	0.143	0.105
78	Turkmenistan*	5.47	5.58	5.37	1.160	1.484	1.319	0.516	0.649	0.314	0.032
79	North Cyprus*	5.47	5.61	5.33	1.078	1.815	0.888	0.819	0.523	0.130	0.213
80	Russia	5.46	5.53	5.39	1.494	1.685	1.095	0.586	0.401	0.117	0.080
81	Hong Kong S.A.R. of China	5.43	5.50	5.35	0.642	1.957	0.954	0.942	0.400	0.147	0.383
82	Armenia	5.40	5.52	5.28	1.654	1.434	0.820	0.668	0.558	0.054	0.210
83	Tajikistan	5.38	5.47	5.29	1.895	0.966	1.005	0.518	0.572	0.118	0.304
84	Nepal	5.38	5.50	5.25	2.224	0.984	0.784	0.499	0.519	0.237	0.130
85	Bulgaria	5.37	5.49	5.26	1.235	1.625	1.163	0.640	0.563	0.123	0.021
86	Libya*	5.33	5.54	5.12	1.544	1.476	0.943	0.606	0.477	0.106	0.179
87	Indonesia	5.24	5.34	5.14	1.300	1.382	0.883	0.539	0.620	0.468	0.047
88	Ivory Coast	5.24	5.38	5.09	2.652	1.094	0.442	0.322	0.451	0.149	0.124
89	North Macedonia	5.20	5.30	5.10	1.461	1.505	0.863	0.637	0.488	0.215	0.031
90	Albania	5.20	5.32	5.08	1.718	1.439	0.646	0.719	0.511	0.138	0.028
91	South Africa	5.19	5.32	5.07	1.742	1.425	1.088	0.361	0.442	0.089	0.046
92	Azerbaijan*	5.17	5.27	5.08	1.098	1.458	1.093	0.560	0.601	0.023	0.341
93	Gambia*	5.16	5.41	4.92	2.531	0.785	0.621	0.369	0.367	0.388	0.103
94	Bangladesh	5.16	5.26	5.05	1.967	1.060	0.614	0.581	0.622	0.125	0.187
95	Laos	5.14	5.26	5.02	1.709	1.239	0.654	0.479	0.679	0.197	0.184
96	Algeria	5.12	5.22	5.03	1.744	1.363	0.970	0.643	0.146	0.106	0.150
97	Liberia*	5.12	5.43	4.82	2.844	0.636	0.670	0.309	0.405	0.178	0.080
98	Ukraine	5.08	5.19	4.98	1.331	1.411	1.081	0.583	0.473	0.188	0.017
99	Congo	5.08	5.24	4.92	2.658	0.950	0.405	0.355	0.431	0.130	0.146
100	Morocco	5.06	5.18	4.94	2.405	1.208	0.268	0.565	0.492	0.020	0.102
101	Mozambique	5.05	5.27	4.82	2.641	0.578	0.660	0.191	0.593	0.185	0.200
102	Cameroon	5.05	5.19	4.91	2.469	0.968	0.672	0.317	0.397	0.152	0.074
103	Senegal	5.05	5.17	4.92	2.419	0.933	0.530	0.447	0.494	0.143	0.081
104	Niger*	5.00	5.25	4.76	2.667	0.570	0.560	0.326	0.571	0.165	0.145
105	Georgia	4.97	5.08	4.87	1.583	1.467	0.612	0.595	0.508	0.000	0.208
106	Gabon	4.96	5.09	4.83	1.892	1.459	0.738	0.396	0.343	0.032	0.099
107	Iraq	4.94	5.10	4.78	1.894	1.289	0.682	0.554	0.328	0.147	0.046
108	Venezuela	4.93	5.05	4.80	2.790	0.000	0.968	0.578	0.283	0.225	0.082
109	Guinea	4.89	5.03	4.75	2.538	0.848	0.566	0.275	0.334	0.214	0.116
110	Iran	4.89	5.00	4.78	1.427	1.410	0.741	0.642	0.281	0.241	0.146
111	Ghana	4.87	5.00	4.75	1.972	1.112	0.595	0.409	0.500	0.230	0.056
112	Turkey	4.74	4.85	4.64	1.059	1.707	0.865	0.702	0.209	0.087	0.115
113	Burkina Faso	4.67	4.81	4.53	2.313	0.779	0.565	0.320	0.382	0.186	0.126
114	Cambodia	4.64	4.77	4.52	1.410	1.019	0.732	0.505	0.740	0.166	0.068
115	Benin	4.62	4.75	4.49	2.458	0.932	0.064	0.335	0.479	0.127	0.230
116	Comoros*	4.61	4.85	4.37	2.304	0.899	0.476	0.424	0.185	0.195	0.125
117	Uganda	4.60	4.75	4.46	1.842	0.777	0.875	0.418	0.402	0.222	0.066
118	Nigeria	4.55	4.65	4.45	1.784	1.079	0.732	0.300	0.444	0.175	0.038
119	Kenya	4.54	4.68	4.40	1.661	1.032	0.605	0.401	0.440	0.322	0.082
120	Tunisia	4.52	4.63	4.40	1.540	1.350	0.596	0.656	0.316	0.029	0.029
121	Pakistan	4.52	4.63	4.40	1.940	1.049	0.413	0.374	0.448	0.181	0.112
122	Palestinian Territories*	4.48	4.67	4.30	1.368	1.148	0.957	0.521	0.336	0.073	0.079
123	Mali	4.48	4.61	4.35	2.373	0.792	0.483	0.311	0.350	0.128	0.042
124	Namibia	4.46	4.59	4.33	1.414	1.292	0.877	0.354	0.384	0.067	0.071
125	Eswatini, Kingdom of*	4.40	4.61	4.19	1.688	1.274	0.786	0.197	0.259	0.038	0.154
126	Myanmar	4.39	4.51	4.28	0.877	1.038	0.829	0.491	0.513	0.452	0.194
127	Sri Lanka	4.36	4.49	4.24	0.595	1.415	0.934	0.660	0.529	0.150	0.079
128	Madagascar*	4.34	4.53	4.15	2.148	0.670	0.645	0.378	0.202	0.143	0.154
129	Egypt	4.29	4.38	4.20	0.856	1.388	0.732	0.548	0.469	0.041	0.254
130	Chad*	4.25	4.50	4.00	2.419	0.662	0.506	0.225	0.180	0.182	0.077
131	Ethiopia	4.24	4.37	4.12	1.375	0.788	0.809	0.457	0.472	0.205	0.136
132	Yemen*	4.20	4.38	4.01	1.561	0.691	1.043	0.384	0.330	0.090	0.098
133	Mauritania*	4.15	4.36	3.95	1.207	1.100	0.865	0.450	0.304	0.088	0.138
134	Jordan	4.15	4.28	4.03	0.695	1.324	0.724	0.675	0.476	0.058	0.200
135	Togo	4.11	4.27	3.95	2.061	0.771	0.322	0.360	0.292	0.174	0.132
136	India	3.78	3.83	3.73	0.795	1.167	0.376	0.471	0.647	0.198	0.123
137	Zambia	3.76	3.90	3.62	1.135	0.930	0.577	0.306	0.525	0.203	0.083
138	Malawi	3.75	3.94	3.56	1.661	0.648	0.279	0.388	0.477	0.140	0.157
139	Tanzania	3.70	3.85	3.56	0.735	0.848	0.597	0.425	0.578	0.248	0.270
140	Sierra Leone	3.57	3.73	3.42	1.556	0.686	0.416	0.273	0.387	0.202	0.055
141	Lesotho*	3.51	3.75	3.28	1.312	0.839	0.848	0.000	0.419	0.076	0.018
142	Botswana*	3.47	3.67	3.28	0.187	1.503	0.815	0.280	0.571	0.012	0.102
143	Rwanda*	3.27	3.46	3.07	0.536	0.785	0.133	0.462	0.621	0.187	0.544
144	Zimbabwe	3.00	3.11	2.88	0.548	0.947	0.690	0.270	0.329	0.106	0.105
145	Lebanon	2.96	3.05	2.86	0.216	1.392	0.498	0.631	0.103	0.082	0.034
146	Afghanistan	2.40	2.47	2.34	1.263	0.758	0.000	0.289	0.000	0.089	0.005

Rank – Country rank by happiness.
Country – Country Name.
Region – Global Regional Indicator.
Happiness score – The main happiness measure, based on the Cantril ladder where people rate their life on a scale from 0 (worst possible life) to 10 (best possible life).
Whisker-high – The upper bound of the confidence interval for the Ladder score, representing a higher possible estimate.
Whisker-low – The lower bound of the confidence interval for the Ladder score, representing a lower possible estimate.
Dystopia + residual – A measure capturing everything unexplained by the above factors, ensuring all countries’ ladder scores add up correctly.
Explained by: GDP per capita – The part of the Ladder score that can be attributed to economic wealth.
Explained by: Social support – The part of the Ladder score explained by the presence of supportive relationships.
Explained by: Healthy life expectancy – The part of the Ladder score due to health and longevity.
Explained by: Freedom to make life choices – The portion of happiness attributed to perceived freedom and autonomy.
Explained by: Generosity – The part of happiness that is explained by acts of generosity.
Explained by: Perceptions of corruption – The effect of trust and corruption perceptions on overall happiness.

Source	https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/
Geo	Global
Entries	146
Columns	12
Date Sourced	2022
Last Updated	Mar 9, 2025

Insights

Use Cases

Finland maintained its top position as the happiest country in the world, with a life evaluation score of 7.8. Other Nordic nations followed closely, demonstrating the enduring benefits of high institutional trust and effective welfare systems. Interestingly, the report notes a global surge in prosocial behaviour during the pandemic—levels of helping strangers, volunteering, and donations reached record highs in 2021, suggesting a shift in what contributes most meaningfully to well-being.

On the other end of the spectrum, countries facing long-term conflict or economic instability continued to report the lowest levels of happiness. The 2022 data reveals that while GDP remains a factor, emotional support and a sense of societal belonging are increasingly vital components of subjective well-being.

Access the full report here: World Happiness Report 2022.

Top 10 Happiest Countries in 2022:

Finland – 7.82
Denmark – 7.64
Iceland – 7.56
Switzerland – 7.51
Netherlands – 7.42
Luxembourg – 7.40
Sweden – 7.38
Norway – 7.37
Israel – 7.36
New Zealand – 7.20

Bottom 10 Happiest Countries in 2022:

Afghanistan – 2.40
Lebanon – 2.96
Zimbabwe – 3.00
Rwanda – 3.27
Botswana – 3.47
Lesotho – 3.51
Sierra Leone – 3.57
Tanzania – 3.70
Malawi – 3.75
Zambia - 3.76

Education & Research

Curriculum Development: Integrate findings into courses on sociology, psychology, and public health to discuss the impact of social connections on well-being.
Further Research: Investigate the causal relationships between communal activities and happiness levels across different cultures.

Policy Making

Community Programs: Develop initiatives that encourage communal dining and social gatherings to strengthen community bonds.
Mental Health Services: Address the rising trend of social isolation, especially among youth, by providing accessible mental health resources.

Media & Journalism

Public Awareness: Highlight stories that showcase acts of kindness and community support to foster a more optimistic societal outlook.
Data Visualisation: Create infographics and interactive content to present the report's findings in an engaging manner.

General Public

Community Engagement: Participate in local events, volunteer opportunities, and communal meals to enhance personal well-being.
Foster Trust: Recognise and appreciate acts of kindness in daily life, contributing to a more trusting and connected community.

Can't find what you're looking for?

If you can’t find the data you are looking for, please request a dataset at statgarden.info@gmail.com