Washington, March 20, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal has fallen five places in the World Happiness Report 2025, released on Thursday, where it appears in 60th position with 6,013 points, compared to 6,030 in the previous report.
According to the study published by Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Centre, Finland is considered the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year, ahead of other Nordic countries, which once again top the ranking.
In addition to Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain in the top four in the same order, while Afghanistan remains in last place (147th).
The ranking of countries is based on answers given by people in surveys when asked to evaluate their own lives. The study was carried out in partnership with the Gallup analysis company and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
"Happiness isn't just about wealth or growth - it's about trust, connection and knowing that people are there for you," explains Gallup CEO Jon Clifton, quoted in the report.
"If we want stronger communities and economies, we have to invest in what really matters: each other," he adds.
The researchers say that, apart from health and wealth, some factors that influence happiness seem apparently simple: sharing meals with other people, having someone to rely on for social support and the size of the household.
In Mexico and Europe, for example, a household of four to five people is what predicts the highest levels of happiness, according to the study.
Believing in the goodness of others is also much more closely linked to happiness than previously thought. By way of example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their wallet if they lose it are a strong indicator of a population's overall happiness. The Nordic countries are among the top places when it comes to the expected and actual return of a lost wallet, according to the study.
The United States, where the number of people who dine alone has increased by 53% in the last two decades, falls in this edition of the study to its lowest ever position, 24th, after having occupied 11th place in 2011.
Although European countries dominate the top 20, there are some exceptions. For example, despite the war with Hamas, Israel appears in 8th place. Costa Rica and Mexico, on the other hand, occupy positions in the top 10 for the first time, in 6th and 10th place respectively.
Another of the conclusions of the report, whose publication coincides with the International Day of Happiness (20 March), reveals that although acts of generosity increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, they have lost momentum, which, according to the experts, affects global well-being, because these acts are engines of collective happiness.
"Being kind and expecting kindness from others are stronger predictors of happiness than avoiding major negative events such as crime or economic hardship," the document states.
At the bottom of the ranking, just before Afghanistan, Sierra Leone in West Africa is the second unhappiest country in the world, preceded by Lebanon.
In a worrying development, the study states that almost a fifth of young adults worldwide report having no social support. By 2023, 19% of young adults worldwide reported that they have no one they can rely on for social support. This is an increase of 39% compared to 2006.
All countries are ranked according to the self-assessments of life of people surveyed, averaged between 2022 and 2024. Experts in economics, psychology, sociology and others try to explain the variations between countries and over time, using factors such as Gross Domestic Product per capita, healthy life expectancy, whether respondents have someone to count on, feelings of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
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