Top 20 Countries Where Young People Are the Happiest
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This graphic ranks the top 20 countries where young people are the happiest, based on the findings of the World Happiness Report (WHR) 2024. Young people in this context are those aged under 30.
This report was produced by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board.
Data and Methodology
The results we used to create this graphic are also listed in the table below.
| Country | Happiness Rank (Age below 30) |
Overall Happiness Rank (All ages) |
Rank Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 1 | 19 | -18 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 3 | 37 | -34 |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 7 | 1 | +6 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 8 | 32 | -24 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 9 | 6 | +3 |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | 10 | 18 | -8 |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 11 | 12 | -1 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 12 | 14 | -2 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 13 | 9 | +4 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 14 | 63 | -49 |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 15 | 21 | -6 |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 16 | 13 | +3 |
| 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 17 | 33 | -16 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 18 | 4 | +14 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 19 | 10 | +9 |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 20 | 7 | +13 |
According to the WHR, scores are based on respondents’ own assessments of their lives, which were measured by their answer to the single-item Cantril Ladder life-evaluation question.
The Cantril Ladder is a commonly utilized gauge of life satisfaction, where individuals assess their lives by envisioning a ladder that symbolizes their spectrum from the least desirable to the most desirable possible life.
Central and Southeastern Europe Ranks Highly
One takeaway from this year’s ranking is that young people in Central and Southeastern Europe are among the happiest in the world, with Lithuania taking the top spot.
Lithuania’s quality of life has grown substantially over the past two decades. For example, in the year 2000, the country’s GDP per capita was below the global average. As of 2022, its GDP per capita is now $25,064, significantly higher than the global average of $12,687.
Other countries from these regions that placed in the top 10 include Serbia (3rd) and Romania (8th).
Diverging Happiness Between the Young & Old
A common theme among the three aforementioned countries is how happiness has diverged between their young and old populations.
Serbia, which ranked 3rd when looking at those under 30 years old, is ranked 37th overall. When looking at only the country’s senior population (60+), Serbia ranks 54th.
One possible reason for this divergence is the rapid advancement of technology and the economic opportunities it offers to younger generations.
See More Graphics About Global Happiness
Be sure to check out our global map graphic summarizing the results of the World Happiness Report 2024.
