The Netherlands has been named as the sixth happiest country in the world as part of the World Happiness Report for 2024. The country comes five places behind frontrunner Finland, a country that has held the title of “Happiest Country in the World” for the past seven years. 

The World Happiness Report 2024

The World Happiness Report is an annual study used to draw conclusions about the happiness and wellbeing of those residing in 143 different countries around the world. The report was compiled using data from Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Countries are ranked according to the self-assessment of the citizens living in a given nation, on a scale from zero, being the worst, to 10, being the best possible life evaluation a country can receive.

The report also considers the following six values as part of the analysis:

• GDP per capita
• Social support
• Healthy life expectancy
• Freedom
• Generosity
• Perceptions of corruption

All of the countries included in the ranking were then assigned a score out of 10 and compared to the imaginary country “Dystopia”, the fictional home of the world's unhappiest people.

The Netherlands is the sixth happiest country in the world

The Netherlands has been named as the sixth happiest country in the world for 2024, slipping down the ranking after coming in fifth last year. The Netherlands was overtaken by Sweden, last year’s sixth happiest country, which rose to fourth place in 2024. 

The first place is held by the ever-happy country of Finland, who topped the ranking for the seventh year in a row. The key factor behind the Fins’ happiness appears to be the country’s strong sense of community.

Top 10 happiest countries in the world 2024

According to the report, these are the top 10 happiest countries in the world in 2024:

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Israel
6. The Netherlands
7. Norway 
8. Luxembourg
9. Switzerland
10. Australia

For more information about the ranking, or the full list of countries, see the World Happiness Report 2024.