Poles as happy as Americans. The highest position in history

This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers

The World Happiness Report is published by the University of Oxford in collaboration with the Gallup Institute. It is the best-known publication measuring levels of life satisfaction across countries worldwide. It is sometimes popularly referred to as the “happiness index.”

Its foundation is a single question posed in a survey. It reads: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life. On which step of this ladder would you say you currently stand?”

The report has been produced since 2011, and since 2012 the life satisfaction score has been calculated as a three-year average. The results in this year’s report are based on responses from 2023–2025. A total of 147 countries were ranked.

For the ninth consecutive year, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world. Its life satisfaction score stood at 7.76. Iceland came in second, followed by Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway. Once again, the Nordic countries dominate the top of the ranking, as they do every year. So far, only once has a country outside this group taken first place – Switzerland in 2014. Apart from Finland, Denmark has topped the ranking three times, and Norway once.

Poland ranked 24th in this year’s report, its highest position in history – an improvement of two places. The country’s three-year average life satisfaction score stands at 6.77. Compared with the previous year, it increased by 0.1 points. Since 2012, Poland has climbed 27 places, from 51st position. At that time, the average life satisfaction score was 5.82. This represents an increase of nearly 1 point, or more precisely, one rung on the ladder.

In doing so, Poland has overtaken many economic powerhouses in terms of life satisfaction. For the first time, it ranked above Canada (25th) and the United Kingdom (29th), and only one place below the United States. France ranks significantly lower (35th), as do southern European countries often perceived as happy, such as Italy (38th) and Spain (41st). Among large EU economies, Germany is ahead of Poland (17th).

An increase in life satisfaction can be observed across many Central and Eastern European countries. As many as six countries from the region made it into the top 30 of the ranking. The highest-ranked among them is Kosovo (16th place), followed by Slovenia (18th), Czechia (20th), Poland, Lithuania (28th), and Serbia (30th). This represents a substantial advance for the region. In 2012, no Central or Eastern European country appeared in the top 30.

In recent years, the life satisfaction ranking has shown a clear divergence. On the one hand, there are the countries mentioned above, where conditions have been improving. On the other hand, countries such as Hungary and Slovakia have seen a marked deterioration since 2022. This is illustrated in the chart above. Hungary dropped from 51st to 74th place (a decline of 0.1 points in its score, compared with Poland’s +0.5 points over the same period), while Slovakia fell from 29th to 54th (−0.21 points). A noticeable decline was also recorded in other countries, for example Croatia, which fell from 48th to 70th place, and Romania, which dropped from 24th to 34th place.

This is all the more interesting given that the divide does not follow the business cycle. The Czech economy has been in near stagnation for the past five years, yet its life satisfaction rating remains high. By contrast, Croatia recorded the strongest growth in per capita income in the entire region, and nonetheless experienced a sharp decline in perceived life satisfaction.

Overall, however, there is a clear relationship between income and happiness. In wealthier countries, perceived life satisfaction is significantly higher than in poorer ones. This is illustrated in the chart above, where results from the World Happiness Report are plotted against GDP per capita, adjusted for differences in price levels. A case in point is the already discussed rise of Central and Eastern European countries, which has coincided with very rapid economic development.

However, there are examples where income levels do not fully explain the perceived happiness of citizens. The most striking positive case is Costa Rica, which ranked 4th in this year’s report and has remained in the top thirty since the index was first published. This is despite GDP per capita reaching only USD 31,400 in 2025. Mexico also performs significantly better than its income level would suggest, ranking 12th. This can largely be attributed to cultural factors – countries in Latin America tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction.

The opposite pattern can be observed in Asian countries. Relatively high-income economies such as Singapore (36th place), Japan (61st), and South Korea (67th) – a country to which Poland is often compared economically – do not translate their wealth into similarly high levels of perceived life satisfaction. This may partly reflect a different income structure, with a greater emphasis on savings and, consequently, investment, and a smaller role for consumption.

Life satisfaction as important as GDP

Studies such as the World Happiness Report are often treated as a curiosity. This is a mistake. The ultimate goal of any economy is to meet the needs of its citizens as effectively as possible. Measuring life satisfaction is therefore as important as tracking hard indicators such as GDP. It should be an integral part of discussions about socio-economic conditions. This is especially relevant given that another indicator once widely used – the Human Development Index (HDI) – has somewhat lost its relevance due to social changes and the convergence of results among the most developed economies, which makes comparisons more difficult.

If life satisfaction matters, what threatens it? According to the authors of this year’s report, the answer is social media. The majority of this more than 250-page publication is devoted precisely to this issue. In North America and Western Europe, young people are significantly less happy than they were 15 years ago. If a comparable happiness ranking were compiled for individuals under the age of 25, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand would rank between 122nd and 133rd out of 136 countries. This is a striking statistic and should serve as a warning sign. Prosperity and technological progress matter greatly, but they do not guarantee happiness – and at times may even hinder it.

Income matters, but is not decisive. There is a clear correlation between income levels and perceived happiness. Examples from Latin American countries show that cultural factors can elevate life satisfaction despite lower GDP. Conversely, in some wealthy Asian countries, high income does not translate into equally high levels of perceived satisfaction.
Poland at its strongest historically. Poland ranked 24th in the happiness ranking – its highest position ever and an improvement of 27 places compared with 2012. The rise in life satisfaction is linked, among other factors, to improved material conditions and overall economic development. Notably, Poland has overtaken some developed countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
Central and Eastern Europe is growing, but unevenly. The region shows a strong increase in life satisfaction, with as many as six countries placing in the top thirty. At the same time, a clear divide is emerging: some countries (e.g. Poland and Czechia) are improving, while others (e.g. Hungary and Slovakia) are declining. Interestingly, these changes do not always align with the pace of economic growth.