Nigeria has ranked 105th out of 147 countries in the 2025 World Happiness Report, published on Thursday to mark the International Day of Happiness.
The new ranking shows a slight decline from Nigeria’s 102nd position in 2024. However, it has climbed to become the 10th happiest country in Africa, holding a strong position among the continent’s most satisfied nations.
Libya took the top spot in Africa, landing at 79th place. Despite ongoing challenges, the country continues to record higher life satisfaction and social well-being than its regional peers.
For the eighth consecutive year, Finland remains the world’s happiest country. Other Nordic nations, including Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, also dominate the top rankings, reinforcing their reputation for strong well-being.
The Netherlands secured the fifth position, while Israel and Luxembourg took the eighth and ninth spots, rounding out the world’s 10 happiest nations.
The United States, which previously dropped out of the top 20, now sits at 24th place. The country’s highest-ever ranking was 11th in 2012.
The downward trend in happiness is not unique to the US. The United Kingdom has now fallen to 23rd place, marking its lowest recorded level of life satisfaction since 2017.
Canada, which has faced a gradual decline in happiness over the past decade, remains within the top 20, ranking at number 18.
Afghanistan, enduring severe humanitarian hardships since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, continues to rank as the world’s least happy nation.
Other rankings
Afghanistan remains in last place at 147, with Sierra Leone at 146, Lebanon at 145, Malawi at 144, and Zimbabwe at 143, making up the five lowest-ranked countries on the index.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) notes that the International Day of Happiness has been observed annually on March 20 since 2013, coinciding with the release of the global rankings.
The World Happiness Report is compiled by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in collaboration with Gallup and the Oxford Center for Well-Being Research, providing insights into global happiness levels.
The report evaluates happiness based on six key factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
This year’s edition focuses “on the impact of caring and sharing on people’s happiness” while also examining disparities in happiness levels within and across different nations.
