The World Happiness Scores for 2025 have just been released and both the United States and Australia have slipped in the rankings. The United States ranked 24th happiest in the world (down from 23rd in 2024) and Australia ranked 11th (down from 10th in 2024). The rankings are based on the Cantril Ladder scores from the annual Gallup World Poll. The Cantril Ladder asks respondents to imagine a ladder from zero to 10 which represents “the best possible life for you” and asks respondents which step of the ladder they currently stand on.
This year, the United States had its lowest ranking since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012. However, the score for the 2025 report was based on polling averages from 2022 to 2024, so the lower score is more a reflection of life under the former Biden administration than the current Trump administration.
Australia has continued on a gradual decline in happiness scores, while Scandinavian countries again took the top spots on the list. Asian countries scored lower than most Western countries. Taiwan scored highest of any Asian respondents, coming in at 27th in the world, but many Asian countries have seen their happiness scores climb in the last few years while many others have fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report is released each year on the International Day of Happiness, so we will need to wait until 20 March 2026 to see the first indication of how scores have changed with a change of presidency in the United States.
