Israel is the world’s eighth happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report 2025.
In the annual survey — conducted during the second year of Israel’s war against Hamas and other Iranian proxies, alongside domestic political turmoil — Finland came in first for the eighth year in a row, while the US dropped to its lowest-ever position, at 24.
Israel, which always ranks highly in the report, fell several places from 2024, when it ranked fifth — though that survey had been based on data collected prior to the unprecedented Hamas invasion and slaughter of October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war.
The 2024 report had also marked a slight dip from fourth place in 2023, which was a jump from ninth in 2022.
Israeli young adults spoke most positively out of anyone in this year’s survey about the quality of their social connections — with Mexico and Argentina following closely behind — and seventh on their quantity.
Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
