Vietnam ranks sixth in the top 10 happiest countries or territories in Asia, according to the 2024 World Happiness Report (WHR) published this week.

Singapore continues to lead Asia as the happiest nation in 2024, the second year that it has held the title, followed by Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.  

Ranking after Vietnam’s sixth position in the top 10 are Thailand, Malaysia, China, and Mongolia.

Globally, Vietnam places 54th among 143 countries surveyed this year, jumping 11 spots from 2023, reflecting the Southeast Asian country's outstanding progress over the past year.

In the latest WHR released on Wednesday, Finland maintains its run as the world’s happiest country for the seventh successive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Australia.

The U.S. and Germany, for the first time on more than a decade, have dropped below the top 20 happiest countries, landing at the 23rd and 24th position respectively.

Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the list this year, followed by Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Congo.

The annual WHR has been published since 2012 to support the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. 

Its data is taken from the U.S. market research firm Gallup and international organizations such as the World Bank and World Health Organization.

According to its website, the WHR is a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Center, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board, which produced the report.

The annual WHR reflects a worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy. 

In ranking the levels of happiness of the countries involved, the report analyzes six factors including GDP per capita, a healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption, states its website. 

In addition, the report also considers data collected from a poll from individuals, in which surveyed persons are requested to rank their own happiness levels based on a score range from one to eight.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!