Nigeria secured the 105 ranking out of 147 nations in the 2025 World Happiness Report unveiled Thursday as the world observes the International Day of Happiness.

The report showed that Nigeria dropped three spots from its 2024 ranking of 102 but has moved higher to become the 10th happiest country in Africa.

Libya emerged as the highest-ranked nation in Africa, securing 79 on the standing, surpassing its neighbours in life satisfaction and societal well-being amidst a landscape of ongoing challenges.

Finland continued its streak as the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, with other Nordic nations like Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden following its lead.

According to the report, the Netherlands ranks fifth, Israel number eight, and Luxembourg number nine, completing the top 10 list.

The United States, which fell out of the top 20 for the first time last year, now ranks No. 24, as it reached its highest ranking of number 11 back in 2012.

The decline in happiness is not exclusive to the U.S., as the United Kingdom now stands at 23, recording its lowest average life satisfaction since 2017.

Meanwhile, Canada, which has seen a downward trend in happiness over the past decade, remained in the top 20 at number 18.

Once again, Afghanistan, which has been suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban movement regained control of the government in 2021, remains the unhappiest country in the world.

Afghanistan is ranked last at 147, followed by Sierra Leone at 146, Lebanon at 145, Malawi at 144, and Zimbabwe at 143, rounding out the five lowest-ranking countries in the happiness index.

The International Day of Happiness, celebrated annually on March 20 since 2013, coincides with the release of the yearly report.

The World Happiness Report is released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in collaboration with Gallup and the Oxford Center for Well-Being Research.

It examines how happiness varies across populations, showing significant differences within and between nations.

The report looks at six key variables to help explain life evaluations: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

This year’s report edition focused “on the impact of caring and sharing on people’s happiness” and how happiness varies across populations, showing significant differences within and between nations.

(NAN)