As the Finns were crowned winners for the sixth year in a row, Germany has ranked 16th in the World Happiness Report of 2023, falling two places from the previous year.

The World Happiness Report 2023

For over 10 years the World Happiness Report has been looking at the state of satisfaction in 137 countries across the world. Using data collected by the Gallup World Poll, which asks 1.000 respondents in each country to assess their happiness on a scale of one to 10, economists at universities in Canada and China put together the report. 

Each year, the report has an additional theme, this year’s being “World Happiness, Trust and Social Connections in Times of Crisis”. The 2023 theme focuses on how people have been able to stay happy and connect with others during the crises of coronavirus and war in Europe.

The survey then considers how six different factors have impacted happiness levels in the 137 countries:

• GDP per capita
• Life expectancy
• Generosity
• Social support
• Freedom
• Perceptions of corruption

Once these factors have been measured each country is given an overall score out of 10. This average score is then compared to the hypothetical country of Dystopia, created by the World Happiness Report to demonstrate the world’s lowest national averages for each of the six aforementioned factors.

And now that the results are out, it seems - at least when it comes to the World Happiness Report - that the head that wears the crown is not so heavy after all: Finland has topped the ranking for the sixth year in a row. Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands took the remaining top five spots.

People in Germany are a smidge sadder than last year

Surpassed by all of its northern and Nordic neighbours, the federal republic dropped two places from last year's Happiness Report, falling from 14th to 16th place. The populations of Switzerland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Austria and the United States all perceived themselves to be happier than residents of the federal republic. In 2023 people in Germany ranked their happiness levels at 6,892 out of 10.

When it came to the six additional factors, Germany ranked well for GDP per capita and social support. The life expectancy in Germany, which has recently fallen, and to what extent people in Germany feel they have the freedom to make life choices, brought the country down in the ranking. Perceived lower levels of generosity and perceptions of corruption also awarded the country lower scores.

The top 10 happiest countries in the world 

According to the 2023 report, the 10 happiest countries in the world are: 

1. Finland (7,804)
2. Denmark (7,586)
3. Iceland (7,530)
4. Israel (7,473)
5. The Netherlands (7,403)
6. Sweden (7,395)
7. Norway (7,315)
8. Switzerland (7,240)
9. Luxembourg (7,228) 
10. New Zealand (7,123)

2023 saw Afghanistan once again occupy the bottom spot on the Happiness Report, with a score of just 1,859 out of 10. To read the full report, visit the website here.

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