World Happiness Report 2025: Finland Leads, Where Does Oman Stand?

The World Happiness Report 2025, published on March 20 and based on Gallup data from 2022 to 2024, ranked Oman as the 4th happiest Arab country, placing it 53rd globally.

• The UAE, with a score of 6.759, is ranked as the happiest Arab country and 21st globally.
• Kuwait and Saudi Arabia follow in second and third place among Arab countries, ranking 30th and 32nd globally, respectively.

“- Key findings of the report include:

• Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year.
• Denmark and Iceland secured the second and third positions, respectively.
• Afghanistan ranked lowest due to ongoing challenges, particularly in the area of women’s rights.
• Sierra Leone and Lebanon followed closely behind.
• Rankings were based on indicators such as social support, freedom, life expectancy, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

The 2025 World Happiness Report focuses on the essential role of caring and social participation in increasing happiness. The report emphasizes that kindness, like caring and sharing, is “twice-blessed”—benefiting both the giver and the receiver.

The Impact of Kindness and Social Engagement on Life Satisfaction

Findings show that individuals who help others or feel supported by their communities report higher levels of life satisfaction. In fact, expecting kindness from others has a greater effect on happiness than many perceived risks or threats.

Returning a lost wallet, used as a symbol of social trust, is most common in the Nordic countries—where both actual kindness and expectations of kindness are among the highest in the world.

In societies where people expect more kindness from others, happiness is more equally distributed and individuals experience greater life satisfaction. This highlights that both overall happiness and fairness in access to it depend strongly on kindness and social trust.

Family, Shared Meals, and Social Bonds: Building Blocks of Happiness

The report reveals that sharing meals with others has an effect on happiness similar to that of income or employment. In contrast, eating alone—increasingly common in the U.S.—is linked to loneliness and dissatisfaction.

Living with family and having a household size of up to four people is directly associated with higher happiness. In Latin American countries, where family ties are stronger, overall levels of happiness are notably higher.

Full List of the World Happiness Report 2025