NEW YORK, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States has fallen to an all-time low of 24th in a global happiness ranking, peaking at 11th in 2012, according to the World Happiness Report released Thursday.
Published by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup, a global analytics and consulting firm, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the World Happiness Report measures happiness based on survey respondents' self-reported life satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10.
Several factors influence a country's overall happiness, including health, wealth, social connections, and family dynamics. The report highlights that people who frequently share meals with others tend to experience higher life satisfaction. However, in the United States, the number of people eating alone has surged by 53 percent over the past two decades. By 2023, about a quarter of Americans reported having eaten alone the previous day -- an indicator linked to a decline in well-being.
"The decline in the United States in 2024 was at least partly attributable to Americans younger than age 30 feeling worse about their lives. Today's young people report feeling less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices and less optimistic about their living standards," said Ilana Ron-Levey, managing director at Gallup.
The report also found that the decline in happiness and social trust in the United States has contributed significantly to political polarization. People are more opposed to government and society.
"In this era of social isolation and political polarization we need to find ways to bring people around the table again -- doing so is critical for our individual and collective wellbeing," said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre.
As the first happiness report released after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the country's declining happiness underscores the broader societal impacts of political divisions and social fragmentation. ■
