World’s happiest places: Taiwan ranks highest in Asia at 26th

• Finland, Iceland, and Denmark continued their longstanding lead at the top of the global rankings.
  
• Costa Rica rose to fourth place, becoming the first Latin American country to enter the top five.
  
• Heavy social media use is reportedly linked to lower wellbeing, particularly among young people.

Nordic countries remain the world’s happiest, with Finland, Iceland, and Denmark once again securing the top three spots in the annual World Happiness Report, published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Costa Rica climbed to fourth place, achieving the highest ever ranking for a Latin American country and becoming the first to enter the top five.

Across the APAC region, New Zealand and Australia performed strongly, ranking 11^th and 15^th respectively.

In Asia, Taiwan led the region at 26^th, followed by Singapore (36^th) and Vietnam (45^th) among the global top 50. 

Hong Kong, however, continued its downward trend, slipping two places to 90^th this year.

This year’s report highlighted the growing impact of social media on happiness and wellbeing, especially among young people. Findings showed that all forms of internet activity correlate with lower life satisfaction at very high levels of usage – a trend particularly pronounced among girls and among those in two English-speaking countries: the UK and Ireland.

At the same time, the report noted that Internet use can also support several drivers of wellbeing, including trust, perceived social activity, and social connection.

World's happiness rankings

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

APAC's happiness rankings

11^th – New Zealand
15^th – Australia
26^th – Taiwan Province of China
36^th – Singapore
45^th – Vietnam
52^nd – Thailand
56^th – Philippines
61^st – Japan
65^th – China
67^th – Republic of Korea
71^st – Malaysia
75^th – Mongolia
87^th – Indonesia
90^th – Hong Kong SAR of China
92^nd – Lao PDR
99^th – Nepal
104^th – Pakistan
116^th – India
121^st – Cambodia
127^th – Bangladesh
129^th – Myanmar
134^th – Sri Lanka
147^th – Afghanistan

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