The 2025 World Happiness Report ranks India 118th among 147 nations, lower than Pakistan, Nepal, and China. While India shows strong social support, it suffers from low freedom scores. Finland remains the happiest country, whereas the U.S. and U.K. have hit low rankings due to rising unhappiness.
The 2025 World Happiness Report has ranked India 118th out of 147 countries, as released on March 20 by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. This ranking places India behind several neighboring countries: Pakistan at 109, Nepal at 92, and China at 68, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are at 133 and 134, respectively. Finland continues to be recognized as the happiest country, with Denmark and Iceland also among the top three.
India has experienced fluctuations in its happiness ranking over the years. While its current rank is 118, the nation’s lowest point was 144 in 2012, and in 2022, it peaked at 94. The report assesses happiness based on various factors, including social support, GDP per capita, health life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceived corruption. This framework considers the prevalence of both positive and negative emotions across the surveyed nations.
India performed well in terms of social support, attributed to its large population, strong community ties, and extended family systems. However, the nation scored low in freedom, reflecting individuals’ perception of choice and its impact on leading fulfilling lives. The report predominantly features Western countries at the top, while Costa Rica and Mexico notably entered the top 10 at 6th and 10th, respectively. Conversely, the United States fell to its lowest ever position at 24, with the United Kingdom seeing a decline to 23, attributed to rising unhappiness and feelings of loneliness.
The 2025 World Happiness Report highlights India’s position at 118th, underscoring the nation’s social support strengths while revealing challenges in freedom. This ranking, along with the comparative standings of neighboring countries, reflects the ongoing complexities in measuring and understanding happiness globally. As nations strive to address these issues, the fluctuating happiness index continues to provoke discussions on well-being and societal factors.
Original Source: www.timesnownews.com
