The World Happiness Report
The World Happiness Report is an annual publication that ranks countries based on how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. It uses factors like GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption levels to create the rankings. The report is produced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
In this project, I aim to visualize data from the World Happiness Report to better understand how happiness varies across different regions, identify the key contributing factors, and explore how these trends have changed over time and why.
Happiness Scores 2024
Before analyzing the data, I expected that countries with stable economies, strong healthcare systems, and low levels of conflict would rank highest in happiness. The map displays countries colored according to their happiness scores for 2024.
Hover over the countries to see their scores and rankings. You can also zoom in.
Highest Scoring
Examining the top-ranking countries, it is clear that the Nordic nations lead by a significant margin. This outcome was somewhat surprising, as they experience long, cold winters rather than the tropical climates often associated with happiness. However, it appears that people adapt to their environments, and weather plays a smaller role in happiness than expected. The map highlights countries with a happiness score greater than 7.
Hover over the top-ranked countries to see their scores and rankings. You can also zoom in.
Lowest Scoring
Among the lowest-scoring countries, many are located in regions facing ongoing challenges such as conflict, economic instability, and limited access to healthcare and education. These factors contribute significantly to lower overall happiness scores. The map highlights countries with a happiness score less than 4.
Hover over the bottom-ranked countries to see their scores and rankings. You can also zoom in.
Happiness over Time
The line chart shows the average global Happiness Score since 2011. The score has remained relatively stable over the years, with no significant fluctuations—even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hover over the lines to see the scores for the respective years.
Russia & Ukraine Conflict
When comparing the Happiness Scores of Russia and Ukraine, the impact of their conflict becomes evident, as their scores begin to trend in opposite directions at the onset of the war. Interestingly, the patterns in their scores appear to mirror each other.
Hover over the lines to see the scores for the respective years.
United Kingdom Brexit
Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom's Happiness Score rose through to 2019. However, after the country formally left the European Union in early 2020, the score began to decline. This suggests that initial optimism or resilience gave way to growing public concerns as the real-world impacts of Brexit became more apparent.
Hover over the lines to see the scores for the respective years.
War Conflict Zones
Countries affected by ongoing conflict—such as Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan—exhibit a consistent downward trend in Happiness Scores over the years. These declines reflect the profound psychological, social, and economic toll that prolonged instability and violence can have on populations.
Hover over the lines to see the scores for the respective years.
Money vs Happiness
My initial thesis was that while a certain financial foundation is necessary for happiness—covering basic needs like food, water and healthcare—additional wealth yields diminishing returns. In other words, once a country reaches a baseline level of economic stability, further increases in income contribute less significantly to overall happiness.
Hover over the country-points to see their scores and GDP
General Trend
This thesis is supported by the scatter plot of countries, which shows GDP per capita on the x-axis and Happiness Score on the y-axis. The pattern follows a root-like function: happiness rises quickly at lower income levels but levels off as GDP increases. This confirms that while money matters, its impact on well-being decreases the wealthier a country becomes.
Hover over the country-points to see their scores and GDP
Conclusion
This visualization explored global happiness trends, examining how happiness scores vary geographically, change over time, and correlate with economic factors like GDP per capita. We've seen how events like conflicts and political changes can impact national happiness, and that while economic prosperity contributes to well-being, its influence diminishes at higher income levels.
World Happiness Data: worldhappiness.report/data-sharing/
GDP per capita Data: ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-per-capita-worldbank
Libraries used: Scrollama.js for scrollytelling and D3.js for data visualization.