World Happiness Report: Why Americans aren't happy—survey reveals the reason

According to UN-backed report, released Thursday, Finland maintained its position as the world's happiest nation for the eighth consecutive year, with its extensive lakes and robust social welfare system cited as key factors by residents and specialists. Afghanistan, facing severe humanitarian challenges since the Taliban's 2020 return to power, remained at the bottom of the global happiness rankings.

The US descended to position 24, its poorest showing since the report's inception in 2012, when it had achieved its peak ranking of 11th place. One of the biggest reason for the fall in happiness of Americans, according to the report, is eating meals alone.

«The number of people dining alone in the United States has increased 53 percent over the past two decades,» the authors stated, highlighting that shared meals «is strongly linked with well-being».

Data from 2023 showed approximately 25% of Americans consumed all their daily meals alone.

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It also highlighted that whilst most nations saw a reduction in 'deaths of despair' — fatalities from suicide or substance misuse — the US experienced an increase.

The survey gathered data worldwide between 2022-2024, prior to US President Donald Trump's impact on domestic and international affairs following his January White House return.

As per the report, while US ranks high in terms of GDP per capita (4),
Surprisingly, it ranks way low in terms of freedom at 115. It ranks 37, in terms of perceptions of corruption.

In term of generosity, it ranks at 16, and has a rank of 12 in terms of social support.

Nordic nations remained firmly in the top