The world is growing happier — but not most Western countries – Deseret News

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The world is growing happier — but not most Western countries

The ‘World Happiness Report’ finds 79 countries with significant gains in happiness and 41 with significant losses. Most Western countries have dropped

Published: March 22, 2026, 9:00 p.m. MDT

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By Jacob Hess

Jacob Hess is a staff writer and Latter-day Saint Voices editor for the Deseret News.

If you were asked to rate your life as a whole on a scale from zero for the worst possible life and 10 for the best possible, how would you rate the state of your life right now?

That’s the question Gallup asks roughly 1,000 people each year in 136 countries. Dating back to 2012, the resulting report — with 100 different social scientists contributing over the years — generates an average measure of life satisfaction for each nation.

Timed with the “International Day of Happiness” on Friday, the World Happiness Report released its annual findings for 2026. As expected, a group of especially happy countries continue to stand out positively — while a group of conflict-ridden countries show uniquely low levels of happiness.

But while general happiness across the world continues to grow, it continues to be perplexing for many to see overall happiness of most Western countries continuing to decrease.

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