2015 World Happiness Report: The Top 20 Happiest Countries

This website takes a closer look at the top 20 happiest countries from the 2015 World Happiness Report. Using data collected from thousands of people across the world, each country was scored based on six key factors: economic prosperity (GDP per Capita), family support, health and life expectancy, personal freedom, trust in government, and generosity. Together, these factors paint a picture of what life is really like for the people living in these countries and help researchers identify what factors can contribute to a country's happiness.

Country Region Happiness Rank Happiness Score Standard Error Economy (GDP per Capita) Family Health (Life Expectancy) Freedom Trust (Government Corruption) Generosity Dystopia Residual
Switzerland Western Europe 1 7.587 0.03411 1.39651 1.34951 0.94143 0.66557 0.41978 0.29678 2.51738
Iceland Western Europe 2 7.561 0.04884 1.30232 1.40223 0.94784 0.62877 0.14145 0.4363 2.70201
Denmark Western Europe 3 7.527 0.03328 1.32548 1.36058 0.87464 0.64938 0.48357 0.34139 2.49204
Norway Western Europe 4 7.522 0.0388 1.459 1.33095 0.88521 0.66973 0.36503 0.34699 2.46531
Canada North America 5 7.427 0.03553 1.32629 1.32261 0.90563 0.63297 0.32957 0.45811 2.45176
Finland Western Europe 6 7.406 0.0314 1.29025 1.31826 0.88911 0.64169 0.41372 0.23351 2.61955
Netherlands Western Europe 7 7.378 0.02799 1.32944 1.28017 0.89284 0.61576 0.31814 0.4761 2.4657
Sweden Western Europe 8 7.364 0.03157 1.33171 1.28907 0.91087 0.6598 0.43844 0.36262 2.37119
New Zealand Australia and New Zealand 9 7.286 0.03371 1.25018 1.31967 0.90837 0.63938 0.42922 0.47501 2.26425
Australia Australia and New Zealand 10 7.284 0.04083 1.33358 1.30923 0.93156 0.65124 0.35637 0.43562 2.26646
Israel Middle East and Northern Africa 11 7.278 0.0347 1.22857 1.22393 0.91387 0.41319 0.07785 0.33172 3.08854
Costa Rica Latin America and Caribbean 12 7.226 0.04454 0.95578 1.23788 0.86027 0.63376 0.10583 0.25497 3.17728
Austria Western Europe 13 7.2 0.03751 1.33723 1.29704 0.89042 0.62433 0.18676 0.33088 2.5332
Mexico Latin America and Caribbean 14 7.187 0.04176 1.02054 0.91451 0.81444 0.48181 0.21312 0.14074 3.60214
United States North America 15 7.119 0.03839 1.39451 1.24711 0.86179 0.54604 0.1589 0.40105 2.51011
Brazil Latin America and Caribbean 16 6.983 0.04076 0.98124 1.23287 0.69702 0.49049 0.17521 0.14574 3.26001
Luxembourg Western Europe 17 6.946 0.03499 1.56391 1.21963 0.91894 0.61583 0.37798 0.28034 1.96961
Ireland Western Europe 18 6.94 0.03676 1.33596 1.36948 0.89533 0.61777 0.28703 0.45901 1.9757
Belgium Western Europe 19 6.937 0.03595 1.30782 1.28566 0.89667 0.5845 0.2254 0.2225 2.41484
United Arab Emirates Middle East and Northern Africa 20 6.901 0.03729 1.42727 1.12575 0.80925 0.64157 0.38583 0.26428 2.24743
The Top 20 Happiest Countries, sourced from Kaggle.
Country Region
Switzerland Western Europe
Iceland Western Europe
Denmark Western Europe
Norway Western Europe
Canada North America
Finland Western Europe
Netherlands Western Europe
Sweden Western Europe
New Zealand Australia and New Zealand
Australia Australia and New Zealand
Israel Middle East and Northern Africa
Costa Rica Latin America and Caribbean
Austria Western Europe
Mexico Latin America and Caribbean
United States North America
Brazil Latin America and Caribbean
Luxembourg Western Europe
Ireland Western Europe
Belgium Western Europe
United Arab Emirates Middle East and Northern Africa
Analysis: The Top 20 Happiest Countries and their Regions.

Taking a Closer Look at the top Happiest Countries' Regions

Western Europe has 10 countries, Latin America and Caribbean has 3 (Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil), North America has 2 (Canada, US), Australia and New Zealand has 2, and Middle East and Northern Africa has 2 (Israel, UAE). Western Europe completely dominates the list.

Western Europe dominates the top 20, claiming 10 of the 20 spots, and holds the top 4 positions entirely. This suggests that the region as a whole shares strong values in areas like family support, health, and trust that contribute to higher happiness. However, the list is not exclusive to wealthy Western nations. Latin America and the Caribbean has 3 countries in the top 20, including Costa Rica at #12, which has a notably lower GDP than most of the European countries but still ranks higher than the United States. This shows that happiness is not purely about economic wealth — culture, community, and personal freedom play a role too.