Happiness in the World · Episode 6 of 8 · 22 min
Why the US Fell From 11th to 23rd in the World Happiness Report
The United States has fallen from 11th in the first World Happiness Report to 23rd in 2026, and the report is specific about who is falling: Americans under 30, who would rank around 62nd on their own while those over 60 would rank near 10th. The episode weighs rising solitude, falling trust, deaths of despair, and competing explanations without partisanship.
Who's who
- John Helliwell+4 more episodesFounding co-editor of the World Happiness Report
- Jeffrey Sachs+1 more episodeReport co-founder who wrote on addiction and digital media in America
- Richard Layard+1 more episodeReport co-founder and advocate of wellbeing as a policy target
- Jan-Emmanuel De Neve+4 more episodesDirects Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre
- Anne CasePrinceton economist who documented deaths of despair
- Angus DeatonPrinceton economist and Nobel laureate who documented deaths of despair
- Vivek Murthy+1 more episodeSurgeon General who issued the 2023 loneliness advisory
- Jonathan HaidtPsychologist who argues smartphones rewired adolescence
Where it happens
- United States+16 more episodesRanked 11th in 2012, 24th in 2025, 23rd in 2026
- United Arab EmiratesRanked 21st in 2026, just above the U.S.
- Saudi ArabiaRanked 22nd in 2026, just above the U.S.
Timeline
- 1974Richard Easterlin publishes the paradox that rising income does not reliably raise happiness
- April 2012First report ranks the U.S. 11th, its best showing
- 2015Case and Deaton document rising mortality among less-educated middle-aged Americans
- May 2023Surgeon General issues advisory on loneliness and isolation
- March 2024U.S. falls to 23rd; under-30s would rank 62nd, over-60s 10th
- March 2026U.S. ranks 23rd, a change the researchers call not meaningful
Still debated
Critics say a few ranks can reflect hundredths of a point and survey mode changes, while defenders note the decline appears independently in other surveys and mortality data. Haidt's smartphone thesis is disputed by researchers who say the causal evidence is weak.
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