India has made modest progress in the 2025 World Happiness Report, moving up to 118th position from last year’s 126th rank.
Despite this improvement, the country still lags behind several neighbours, including Nepal, Pakistan, and Ukraine.
The report, released on the International Day of Happiness, explores the global state of happiness and highlights the impact of caring and sharing on people’s well-being.
Finland continues its reign as the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.
The rankings are derived from self-reported life evaluations of respondents, averaged over the years 2022 to 2024.
These evaluations assess subjective well-being using indicators such as life satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions.
India’s overall ranking remains low; however, it performed relatively well in specific measures of benevolence.
The country ranked 57th for donating, 10th for volunteering, and 74th for helping strangers.
These acts of kindness underline a cultural propensity for collective care despite broader systemic challenges.
In the South Asian region, Afghanistan remains the unhappiest nation, holding the last position at 147th.
Nepal and Pakistan outperformed India, securing the 92nd and 109th positions, respectively.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ranked lower than India, positioned at 133rd and 134th. China saw a decline in its ranking, dropping to 68th from 60th last year.
The report’s authors emphasized the significance of social connections and shared experiences in fostering happiness.
Sharing meals, for instance, was identified as a universal act that enhances well-being. People who regularly eat with others tend to report higher levels of happiness.
The findings also reflect how the pandemic reshaped global attitudes toward benevolence.
While the COVID-era surge in acts of kindness diminished in 2024, these activities remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The World Happiness Report’s roots trace back to Bhutan’s pioneering emphasis on Gross National Happiness.
Bhutan’s resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 laid the foundation for this annual publication, though Bhutan itself is not included in this year’s rankings.
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Since its first release in 2012, the report has served as a benchmark for understanding happiness and well-being globally.
The United States experienced a significant decline in happiness, falling to its lowest-ever position at 24th.
Increasing trends of solitary dining were noted as a contributing factor to declining well-being in the country.
Other key insights included the resilience of helping strangers, which remains elevated globally compared to pre-pandemic years, and the enduring value of community-driven initiatives in nurturing happiness.
