World Happiness Report 2023: Country Rankings, Kindness During Covid, and the Benefits of Altruism

The authors summarize a huge number of studies, but mostly rely on the Gallup World Poll. Citizens of different countries rate their lives on a scale from 0 to 10. Based on the average scores of the last three years, an international ranking of happiness is compiled. Respondents' emotions in everyday life are measured separately.

In 2023, the happiness rating included 137 countries for which it was possible to collect data.

Finland took first place for the 6th time in a row. Denmark was second, and Iceland was third. Israel took fourth place. As before, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand are in the top ten. Lithuania entered the top twenty for the first time.

Why is life better in some countries than in others? Scientists single out 6 factors that together explain three quarters of international differences in the level of happiness.

In most countries, life expectancy changes little from year to year. Even the upheavals of the last three years did not change the world picture. Scientists compared 2020-2022 with 2017-2019 and found no significant difference.

How did humanity not fall? Experts answer: thanks to kindness, trust, social connections and mutual support.

After the coronavirus, a "pandemic of kindness" swept the planet. There has been more charity, volunteering and helping strangers all over the world. Compared to the previous period, these indicators have increased by a quarter - and still have not gone down! All in all, a surge of good deeds kept happiness at its former level. In the midst of our losses, we gained a new sense of togetherness and mutual trust.

And trust literally saves lives. Even before Covid, scientists found that it increases after disasters if the government responds effectively and people help each other. At the same time, a high level of trust helps to more easily survive various troubles, from financial crises to tsunamis. Even mortality from covid was found to be lower in countries with high levels of trust in public institutions.

We act altruistically when we help others without apparent benefit to ourselves. As a rule, it costs us some resources: energy, money, time. Typical examples of altruism are helping strangers, donating money, volunteering, donating blood. Extreme manifestations - organ donation or saving someone else's life at one's own expense.

"Kindness Pandemic" perfectly demonstrates the connection between altruism and happiness. Scientists find new examples of this connection and wonder: in which direction does it work? Altruism makes us happy - does happiness make us altruistic? The authors of the report consider both options to be correct.

In both cases, happiness, empathy, trust in people, and optimism about human nature increase.

Sometimes help causes mixed or negative emotions: anxiety, sadness, guilt and unpaid debt. This happens when the beneficiary doubts the altruism of the benefactor or considers the help involuntary. A clear inequality can also spoil the impression - the condescension of a rich and status altruist. In such cases, anonymous donations save.

Their level of happiness increases, pain and symptoms of depression go away. This is especially evident when a person acts of his own free will, guided by sincere care. Real or perceived lack of choice prevents pleasant emotions. Interestingly, altruism is more common in individualistic cultures, where helping is seen as a personal choice rather than an obligation.

They improve their opinion about people as such. They also want to be kinder, and for this it is not even necessary to observe an altruistic act in person. True, extreme self-sacrifice is not always welcomed: it is, after all, a violation of social norms. In some communities, where "every man is for himself", altruists are generally disliked.

The influence of happiness on altruism is also huge. Happy people devote more hours to volunteering, spend more money and effort on others. When the level of happiness increases in a region, all kinds of altruism to kidney donation become more frequent there. Such acts are too rare to affect the happiness of the entire region. And here happiness is definitely the cause, not the result.

We willingly share resources when there are many of them, so altruism contributes to the growth of health, wealth, and status. And even just a good mood increases the likelihood of small good deeds. Perhaps it is connected with the desire to continue positive emotions. But sometimes negative emotions lead to positive actions. At the height of the pandemic, the greatest good was done by people in a state of acute stress.

Perhaps the most important property of altruism is self-reproduction. Having received selfless help, a person strives to pass the good on. And every good deed increases the possibility of good deeds in the future. Although we do not count on the benefit, successful actions are anchored thanks to emotions. Various factors can work for this:

Every year, scientists ask people from different countries to rate their lives. Based on the average scores for recent years, an international ranking of happiness is compiled and global trends are tracked.

COVID-19 has had surprisingly little impact on our well-being. The authors of the World Happiness Report believe that the effect was moderated by the "pandemic of kindness" - a widespread surge in altruism in 2020-2021. Altruism increases mutual trust and a sense of community. Everyone becomes happier: beneficiaries, benefactors and even observers. At the same time, happy people are more altruistic, especially if someone else's kindness contributed to their happiness. Thus, altruism starts a wide circle of good and directly improves society.