The World Happiness Report is an annual assessment of how happy and content people around the world are. The report typically looks at various factors that can affect our wellbeing and quality of life, and ranks countries based on happiness.
The latest release in 2025 has a strong focus on the importance of caring and kindness towards others. The results showed that Nordic countries remain the happiest in the world with Finland taking the number one spot, and Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden following close behind.
The research in the 2025 World Happiness Report could give you an insight into your own life and some ways you could improve your wellbeing.
Here are three key lessons to consider.
1. Be optimistic about the kindness of those around you
If you dropped a wallet or purse while you were out, you might assume that you’ll never get it back. Many of us believe that if a stranger finds money on the floor, they’ll simply take it for themselves.
Yet, the latest World Happiness Report found that most people are actually kinder and more helpful than we think.
As part of the report, researchers surveyed members of the public to ask whether they thought a stranger would return a wallet they found in the street. Then, the researchers dropped some wallets to see what would happen.
In many countries, the percentage of wallets returned was far higher than respondents expected, demonstrating that we tend to have a pessimistic view of the kindness of those around us.
In fact, in 2024, the number of people helping strangers globally was 18% higher than it had been between 2017 and 2019.
Crucially, the report found that it isn’t only the kindness we experience from others that improves our wellbeing. Our perception of the kindness of people around us also has a significant effect.
So, if you can be more optimistic and recognise the goodwill of others, you may find that you are more content yourself.
2. Social connection is a crucial contributor to happiness
There are many factors that contribute to our overall happiness including income, access to public services, work-life balance, and social connection.
Social connection is one factor that appears to be a central part of happiness for people of all ages around the globe. According to the World Happiness Report, people with strong social connections tend to be:
- Happier
- Less stressed
- More satisfied with their lives
- Less prone to depression
- More engaged in their communities
- Less likely to suffer from disease or disability.
There are many simple ways to foster social connection and improve your wellbeing. For example, the report showed that the number of meals a person shares with others was a clear indicator of overall wellbeing. Often this metric was as reliable as income or employment status in determining a person’s happiness.
This demonstrates how powerful the relationships we have with loved ones can be. As such, it’s important to focus on your family and friends and make an effort to stay socially connected as much as you can.
3. Building wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness
Economic factors are undoubtedly important when it comes to your overall happiness. After all, building wealth and fostering financial stability means you can afford to reach more of your goals in life and experience less stress about money.
Yet, if income and wealth were the only important indicators of wellbeing, it would follow that the happiest countries in the world would likely be those with the highest GDP per capita.
The World Happiness Report shows that isn’t necessarily the case. For instance, World Population Review reports that Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita in the world in 2025, yet it ranks 9th on the world happiness rankings.
Finland – the happiest country in the world – ranks 18th in GDP per capita.
This suggests that wealth alone may not be enough to make people happy. Other factors including social support, freedom, and the kindness of others are equally, if not more important.
You might find that the same is true in your own life. Building wealth could give you more financial stability and create more opportunities. However, simply growing your savings as much as possible won’t necessarily make you content.
Instead, it’s important to focus on how you use that wealth to enrich your life.
Our team can support you with this by helping you determine your goals and dream lifestyle. We can then build a financial plan that allows you to achieve those aims.
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Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.