The World Happiness Report 2025 is out, and it turns out Pakistanis are feeling a bit better about life than their neighbors in India and Afghanistan.
The report, which looks at social support and overall well-being, ranked Pakistan at 109 out of 147 countries, while India landed at 118 and Afghanistan at 147—dead last on the list.
Published on March 20 by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the report shows a slight dip for Pakistan, which was ranked 108 last year. Meanwhile, Iran is doing slightly better at 99, despite hosting a large refugee population.
Looking at the rest of South Asia, India is at 118, Bangladesh: 133, Sri Lanka: 134, Afghanistan: 147 (the lowest-ranked country), Iran: 99 and China positioned at 27.
At the top of the list, Finland holds onto its title as the world’s happiest country, with Denmark and Iceland not far behind. Other countries in the top 15 include Sweden, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, and Australia.
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On the flip side, some of the lowest-ranked countries include Sierra Leone (142), Lebanon (143), Malawi (144), and Zimbabwe (146).
Meanwhile, the United States has dropped to its worst-ever ranking at 24, with rising loneliness and unhappiness being blamed for the decline. Similarly, the United Kingdom sits at 23, its lowest position since 2017.
