What contributes to happiness and why does it matter for democracy?

Joana Meurkens didn't have an easy start into the new year. Her landlord raised the rent of her Brooklyn apartment, forcing the 26-year-old actress and singer from New York to move out and temporarily live between her boyfriend's and her parents' homes. 

"Rent and groceries are really high, eggs are like $1 per egg now, even the subway is more expensive. So I thought, I might as well move out and save money," she says.

Supermarkets in the US are experiencing an egg shortageImage: David Zalubowski/AP Photo/picture alliance

Rising prices are just one of the reasons why young Americans like Joana are increasingly dissatisfied —  alongside wars, political polarization, loneliness and unemployment.

According to this year's World Happiness Report, young adulthood — a phase once considered one of the happiest in life — has taken a "troubling turn." Young people in Western Europe and North America now report "the lowest well-being among all age groups," the report states. 

Released yearly on March 20 to mark the United Nations' International Day of Happiness, the World Happiness Report is a worldwide survey that ranks countries according to the level of satisfaction of their population.

This year, the United States fell to its lowest-ever position. Occupying the 24th rank, the country dropped out of the top 20 last year. Germany is now ranked 22nd and the UK, 23rd. 

"But if you were to look just at youth, the United States wouldn't even make it to the top 60," Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a researcher from Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Centre who worked on the report, tells DW. 

Demonstrations as a new form of community gathering

Joana is not surprised by the results. In the past two years, she says, life has not only gotten significantly more expensive, she and her peers are also struggling to find jobs; youth unemployment is on the rise, and political upheavals have left young people disillusioned.

Young New Yorkers protest for the release of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud KhalilImage: Jodi Hilton/NurPhoto/picture alliance

In New York, where Joana lives, young people replaced partying with protesting, she says. "That's what I feel like people my age do now. There are so many demonstrations all the time, so there are always people gathering, which I think is positive because there is a strong sense of community." 

Community is key for happiness

De Neve has observed that the US youth in particular is unhappier than it was because of increasing loneliness. He stresses that communal ways of living, such as sharing meals and living in households with at least four people, have a positive impact on well-being. 

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is director of the Wellbeing Research Centre in Oxford and editor of the World Happiness ReportImage: Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford

"Youth today are twice as likely to dine alone compared to two decades ago. Habits seem to have changed: When I look at my students, they eat by themselves, with their phones in their hands. But our data clearly shows that people who share meals are happier," De Neve says.

The decline of social connections, the data shows, also leads to political polarization and changes in voting behavior. "We found out that people who are unhappy are more likely to vote for anti-system parties," he says.

Youth in crisis mode

Joana's youth was marked by political upheavals: "I was in my senior year when Trump got elected for the first time," she says. "Then the pandemic hit, everyone had to do online school, and on my 21st birthday, we couldn't even go out to a bar; we were having parties on zoom."

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the highest possible level of satisfaction, Joana says she would rate her own happiness at 6 — consistent with the American average of 6.7. She says that her life has felt like a constant "crisis mode."

Joana Meurkens lives in New York and is 26 years oldImage: Stephanie Rodriguez

To deal with the crises, many people in Joana's generation turn to medication. According to a recent study examining 221 million prescriptions for Americans aged 12 to 25, antidepressant prescriptions increased by nearly 64% during the pandemic, from March 2020 to December 2022.

"I feel like everyone is on antidepressants and anxiety medication nowadays," Joana says. 

Finnish people the happiest for 8th time in a row

Almost 7,000 kilometers away, the 33-year-old Finnish corporate receptionist Lisa* (not her real name) also shared her thoughts with DW on the 2025 World Happiness Report results: "Personally, I am always a little surprised when I hear that Finland ranks first in happiness, because it's very dark in the winter here, and things are expensive," she says.

Lisa lives in Helsinki and rates her life at 7, consistent with her country's average at 7.7. "Because of the commuting, I take another point off. It takes me 45 minutes to work every day," she says. "In Helsinki, that's quite a lot."

In the past years, Russia's war on Ukraine has been a central security threat to Finland. Even though this is an additional concern for the younger generation, the topic is rather taboo in the country, says Lisa, since discussing the possibility of war feels too scary. The young woman hopes Finland's institutions will manage to maintain peace.

Welfare safety net

The average household size in Finland is below two people per dwelling. Reflecting this statistic, Lisa lives by herself. She generally eats alone, because after a long working day, she doesn't always have the energy or time to share meals with others, she explains.

Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the average household size ranges between 3 and 5. Consequently, it's also the region where people share the most meals. Yet, the region only has two representatives in the top 20 of the World Happiness ranking: Costa Rica and Mexico.

Despite being a rather individualistic society, Finland's population shares a higher level of satisfaction. How is this consistent with the well-being researchers' data on the importance of social connection?

"Happiness is not only about sharing meals or living together, it's a combination of factors," De Neve explains. "If you look at Scandinavian countries versus the United States, they are sort of equally rich, but Scandinavians redistribute their wealth a lot more," he adds. 

Eating together makes people happier, the World Happiness Report showsImage: Colourbox

According to the report, Scandinavians also have more social trust than people in US. "People trust, for example, that lost wallets will be returned," De Neve says. And while Scandinavians can trust their welfare state, Americans often live a life marked by anxiety. 

"Health insurance in the US is typically tied to work. So if you lose your job, you also lose your health insurance and that's how people can get into difficult situations," De Neve explains.

Happiness at the center of politics

But happiness is not just a personal concern, De Neve says. The data shows that happiness has direct effects on politics and the economy, with unhappiness leading to political polarization, reduced productivity and ultimately, being a threat for democracy. 

"The solution is to put happiness at the heart of policy-making and to learn from countries that are doing well, like Denmark, Finland, Costa Rica, Slovenia, Lithuania or Mexico," De Neve says. 

"I think the lessons are pretty clear," he adds. "The well-being of societies is based on sustainable growth that respects the planet as well as meaningful redistribution of wealth."

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier