04th April 2025
Why Kindness Is a More Powerful Predictor of Happiness Than Income
The 2024 World Happiness Report reveals that generosity and belief in others’ kindness are stronger predictors of happiness than income. Acts like helping, volunteering, and donating significantly improve wellbeing, especially when rooted in connection, choice, and impact. As global benevolence declines, embracing kindness is vital for individual and collective happiness.
This article was written by Jon Clifton and Julie Ray, and published in Gallup.
This year’s World Happiness Report not only reveals which country is the happiest in the world but also underscores the power of kindness: New evidence shows acts of generosity and the belief in others’ goodwill are significant predictors of happiness, even more so than earning a higher salary.
These findings couldn’t come at a more important time. Gallup trends show that acts of benevolence — helping a stranger, volunteering time and donating money — have dropped significantly from their pandemic-era peak. Though still higher than pre-pandemic levels, the sudden drop-off in these behaviors raises questions about where these trends might be headed.
And the Happiest Country in the World Is …
In the latest happiness rankings, Nordic countries continue to dominate the top spots, with Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden maintaining their positions as the happiest countries in the world. Finland remains in a league of its own, followed by Denmark and Iceland, which are closely grouped together, and Sweden rounding out the top four.
This year’s top 10 countries also include Costa Rica and Mexico from Latin America and Israel from the Middle East. Notably, after falling out of the top 20 for the first time last year, the U.S. has not returned. In general, 15 Western industrial countries are now less happy than they were between 2005 and 2010. The U.S., Switzerland and Canada are among the biggest losers.
Why Kindness Matters More Than Ever
Beyond these rankings, the most recent report focuses on the effect that caring and sharing have on people’s happiness. Despite the rise in generosity during the COVID-19 pandemic, acts of kindness — helping a stranger, volunteering and donating — have lost their momentum. This matters to the world’s future wellbeing because individually, and taken together, these behaviors are all key drivers of happiness.
One of the report’s most striking revelations is that being kind and expecting kindness from others — believing that your wallet would be returned if you lost it — are stronger predictors of happiness than avoiding major negative events like crime or economic hardship. In other words, believing in the goodwill of those around us can have a bigger impact on our wellbeing than earning a higher salary.
Furthermore, countries where people expect their lost wallets to be returned — like the Nordic nations — rank highest in happiness. The simple belief that others will act with honesty and decency contributes to greater overall life satisfaction. Trust in others is a happiness multiplier. (…)
To continue reading this article in full click here: Is a Kinder World a Happier One?
