A survey by an initiative under the United Nations found that Switzerland, the land of clocks and chocolates, is the world's happiest country.
The 2015 World Happiness Report, seeking to quantify happiness as a means of influencing government policy, was produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
When compared to World Happiness Report 2013, the country rankings in the 2015 Report shows a combination of consistency and change. Nine of the top 10 countries in 2015 were also in the top 10 of 2013, out of which seven are small or medium-sized countries in Western Europe. But the ranking has changed, with Switzerland now at the top. It is followed closely by Iceland, the land of warm springs; Denmark, where one can enjoy the great jazz and rock music; and Norway, where the sun never sets in some parts in summer.
The rest of the top 10 are Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia.
Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and one of the editors, said at a media conference that the top countries combined affluence with strong social support, and relatively honest and accountable governments.
The United States trails in the 15th place, behind Israel and Mexico. Surprisingly, Iraq, a country suffering from relentless terrorist attacks, was ranked ahead of South Africa, India, Kenya and Bulgaria.
Most of the 10 countries at the bottom of the list are in sub-Saharan Africa, with the addition of war-ravaged countries of Afghanistan and Syria. Syria has further dropped in the list.
World's least happy countries are Togo, Burundi, Syria, Benin and Rwanda.
Analysis of changes in life evaluations shows big international differences in how the global recession affected national happiness. The top three gainers were Nicaragua, Zimbabwe and Ecuador. The biggest drop in average life evaluations was in Greece, followed by Egypt and Italy.
For SDSN, Gallup surveyed people in 158 countries, and tried to assess their level of happiness by taking into account six key variables: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity.
A rapidly increasing number of national and local governments are using happiness data and research in their search for policies that could enable people to live better lives. The 166-page report will be distributed widely at the United Nations and closely read by governments around the world.
The report reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness. They reflect a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as a criteria for government policy.
Since it was first published in 2012, the World Happiness Report demonstrated that well-being and happiness are critical indicators of a nation's economic and social development, and should be a key aim of government policy.
The report contains analysis from leading experts in the fields of economics, neuroscience, national statistics, and describes how measurements of subjective well-being can be used effectively to assess national progress.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.