2025 World Happiness Report: Nigeria’s Ranking Drops to 105

The 2025 World Happiness Report ranks Nigeria at 105 among 147 nations, indicating a decline from last year. Libya is the top African nation at 79, while Finland remains the happiest worldwide for eight years. The report emphasizes the effects of social factors on happiness and highlights issues such as Afghanistan’s ranking as the unhappiest country.

The 2025 World Happiness Report, released on March 20 to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, ranked Nigeria at 105 out of 147 countries, marking a decline from the previous year’s position at 102. Despite this drop, Nigeria maintains its standing as the 10th happiest nation in Africa.

Libya is recognized as the highest-ranked African nation, achieving a spot at 79, indicating a level of life satisfaction and societal well-being amid challenging circumstances. Finland continues its reign as the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, followed closely by Nordic counterparts Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.

The top ten also includes the Netherlands at fifth, Israel at eighth, and Luxembourg at ninth positions. The United States, now ranked 24th, has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time, while the United Kingdom stands at 23, its lowest average life satisfaction since 2017. Canada remains amidst the top 20 at 18 despite a decade of declining happiness.

Afghanistan has maintained its position as the least happy country globally, now at rank 147, with Sierra Leone (146), Lebanon (145), Malawi (144), and Zimbabwe (143) rounding out the lowest five. The World Happiness Report, facilitated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in collaboration with Gallup and the Oxford Center for Well-Being Research, evaluates happiness through six variables: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

This year’s focus was on how caring and sharing influences individuals’ happiness and the disparities thereof across different nations.

In summary, the 2025 World Happiness Report reveals Nigeria’s decline to 105 out of 147 countries, while Libya leads Africa at 79. Finland continues to be the happiest country worldwide, sustaining its top position for eight years. The report highlights significant global happiness variances and underscores the pressing issues faced by nations like Afghanistan, which remains at the bottom of the ranking. The analysis emphasizes the impact of social variables on happiness and overall wellbeing across populations.

Original Source: businessday.ng