American happiness has taken a major dive and there’s one reason why

The United States may seem like one of the happiest countries on the planet but it is not the paradise it once was according to an updated ranking of worldwide happiness. What is causing America’s unhappiness? Let’s take a look. 

America fell out of the top 20 countries in the 2024 World Happiness Report, slipping by seven spots from the 15th happiest country in 2023 to the 23rd in just one year. It was a big decline for the U.S.  but one with a glaring reason. 

The age disparity between individuals who were happy in America and those who were not had a clear dividing line between the young and old. Older Americans reported they were happier than the country’s younger generations. 

For example, the report revealed that the United States ranked in the top 10 of happiest countries among those 60 or older but placed 62nd on the ranking when looking at data reported from those aged 30 years old and younger. 

According to NBC News, the U.S. ranking for those 30 and under was below that of the Dominican Republic and on par with Malaysia and Russia. These facts show the major worry that the country’s youth are currently facing. 

NBC News also noted the World Happiness Report tracks well-being trends rather than the causes of unhappiness but one of the report's editors explained that several factors were responsible for the worrying happiness divide. 

However, economic inequality between generations in the United States is the likely reason behind the unhappiness among the country’s younger generations according to the American news outlet. But it is not the only problem.

World Happiness Report editor Lara Aknin explained young people are dissatisfied with their support system and living situations, USA Today reported, but that expresses waning confidence in their governments and freedom to make life choices. 

“Youths have reached the point of a midlife crisis – today,” explained Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics and behavioral science at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and one of the publishers of the World Happiness Report.

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De Neve added that the situation is “really disconcerting” since it leads to one obvious question: “Where's it going to go from here?” This isn’t just a problem facing the United States, though. It's an issue for other Western countries. 

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Canada, France, and Germany join the United States in the predicament of their youth being unhappy compared to older generations. Declining youth happiness levels aren’t all negative. Eastern European youths are quite happy. 

One of the biggest insights from the new data according to De Neve was that happiness in both Central and Eastern Europe is on the rise for all ages, and there may be clues in their happiness that the United States can learn from and use. 

“I think we can try and dig into why the U.S. is coming down in terms of wellbeing and mental health, but we should also try and learn from what, say, Lithuania is doing well,” De Neve explained. But the U.S. can learn from others, too. 

Finland topped the rankings and was followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, all of which are rich countries that De Neve said had “a high sense of contentment” and trust in their societies. It’s possible lessons can be learned from their success. 

“They are obviously wealthy nations," De Neve explained, adding that the top countries were among “the most equal societies, so everybody benefits from the wealth that also underpins a welfare state, which provides psychological stability.”

Photo by Tapio Haaja on Unsplash

Only one hundred and forty-three countries were included in the 2024 World Happiness Report. Afghanistan took the bottom spot and was preceded by Lebanon, Letho, and Sierra Leone.