Canada Takes the Lead as the G7’s Happiest Country

Canada has been recognized as the happiest country among the G7 nations in the 2025 World Happiness Report.

Year after year, Canada has consistently ranked as one of the happiest nations, not only within the G7 but also in the broader G20 group.

2025 World Happiness Ranking

In the global happiness index for 2025, Canada secured the 18th spot. This marks a slight drop from its 2024 position, where it was ranked 15th worldwide.

The decline in rankings is not unique to Canada, as all G7 nations have seen a downward trend over the last five years. The United States fell to 24th place this year, while the United Kingdom ranked 23rd. Notably, Germany, which held a higher position than Canada in 2021, has now slipped to 22nd place.

Between 2020 and 2024, Canada’s rankings were as follows:

Year	Global Happiness Ranking
2020	11
2021	14
2022	15
2023	13
2024	15

Meanwhile, Finland continues its dominance in the rankings, holding the top position for the eighth consecutive year.

Since the World Happiness Report began in 2013, Scandinavian nations have frequently dominated the top 10. In 2025, six of the ten happiest countries were from this region.

Top 10 Happiest Countries in 2025

The following table lists the top-ranking countries along with their life evaluation scores:

Rank	Country	Life Evaluation Score
1	Finland	7.736
2	Denmark	7.521
3	Iceland	7.515
4	Sweden	7.345
5	Netherlands	7.306
6	Costa Rica	7.274
7	Norway	7.262
8	Israel	7.234
9	Luxembourg	7.122
10	Mexico	6.979

How Happiness is Measured

The World Happiness Rankings are determined through an in-depth assessment of subjective well-being, focusing on three primary factors:

1. Life Evaluations: Individuals assess their overall quality of life.
2. Positive Emotions: Measures experiences of joy, laughter, and interest.
3. Negative Emotions: Captures feelings of worry, sadness, and anger.

Life Evaluations

The rankings rely heavily on self-assessments, where respondents evaluate their lives using the Cantril Ladder, a scale from 0 (worst possible life) to 10 (best possible life). The data is sourced from the Gallup World Poll and averaged over three years for accuracy.

Additional factors influencing life evaluations include perceptions of:

• Social support
• Freedom
• Generosity
• Corruption

Typically, about 1,000 individuals per country participate in the survey each year, ensuring a representative national average.

Positive and Negative Emotions

Happiness rankings also take into account emotional well-being:

• Positive emotions are derived from self-reports of laughter, enjoyment, and interest.
• Negative emotions are assessed based on reports of worry, sadness, and anger.

While emotions contribute to the overall ranking, life evaluations remain the most reliable indicator for international comparisons.

Happiness Among Newcomers in Canada

Although limited research exists specifically on newcomer happiness in Canada, available studies show positive trends. A 2024 survey by Pollara Strategic Insights found that 79% of 1,507 surveyed newcomers reported feeling “overall happiness in Canada.”

Research by Statistics Canada further supports this, highlighting that immigrants generally report a strong sense of belonging both to their communities and to the country.

Sense of Belonging to Local Communities

A 2022 study found that:

• 50% of recent immigrants (arrived within the past five years) reported a strong sense of belonging to their local community.
• 48% of long-term immigrants (more than five years in Canada) expressed a strong local belonging.
• In comparison, 46% of Canadian-born individuals reported a similar sense of belonging.

Sense of Belonging to Canada

A 2023 Statistics Canada report revealed regional differences in immigrants’ sense of belonging to Canada:

• Immigrants in Ontario and Atlantic Canada reported the strongest attachment to Canada.
• Immigrants in British Columbia and Alberta expressed a weaker sense of belonging.
• In Alberta, this was linked to factors such as unemployment, discrimination, and socioeconomic conditions. If these factors were balanced, their sense of belonging would be comparable to that in Ontario.
• In British Columbia, the lower sense of belonging persisted even when these factors were accounted for.

Despite these differences, immigrants in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces consistently report stronger feelings of attachment to Canada than native-born Canadians.

Canada’s strong global happiness ranking and positive newcomer experiences indicate that the country remains an attractive destination for those seeking a high quality of life.

Connect with us