How sad. The latest annual World Happiness Report sees the U.S. tumbling down eight spots to 23rd – an all-time low ranking.
Finland tops the overall list for the seventh successive year, though there is considerable movement elsewhere with the U.S. recording major movement towards the bottom of the table.
Significantly, the U.S. (23rd) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30.
Afghanistan remains bottom of the overall World Happiness Report rankings as the world’s “unhappiest” nation.
Findings also suggest the wellbeing of 15- to 24-year-olds has fallen in North America.
The researchers say this is driven in part by a decline in how Americans under 30 feel about their lives while older Americans are happier — with President Joe Biden tending to do better with them.
“In the US, happiness or subjective wellbeing has decreased in all age groups, but especially for young adults,” Gallup managing director Ilana Ron Levey told CBS News in an emailed statement, adding that social connections are one key factor contributing to these generational disparities in happiness.
“The World Happiness Report and the Gallup/Meta social connectedness data show peak loneliness for younger Americans. It’s widely recognized that social support and feelings of loneliness are influential factors in determining overall happiness, and these dynamics differ across various age groups,” she said.
“The quality of interpersonal relationships may impact the wellbeing of younger and older individuals in distinct ways.”
Finland ranked No. 1 on the overall list of the world’s happiest countries for the seventh year in a row. The top 10 in the latest report are:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
A CBS News poll in December found 21 percent of Americans described themselves as “very happy” and another 55 percent as “fairly happy.”
Those who said things were going well with their family lives were far more likely to report general happiness, as were people who said they have enough money to live comfortably.
Read the report in full at worldhappiness.report