In perhaps the least surprising news I’ve heard in quite some time, the U.S. now carries the distinction of not even being among the 20 happiest countries in the world.
Wednesday, the UN’s International Day of Happiness was commemorated with the release of the 2024 World Happiness Report, which pulls from Gallup data. In an accompanying ranking, the U.S. came in at No. 23, which marks the first time the country has failed to fall within the top 20 since the annual reports started being published 12 years ago.
It’s a unique dishonor, but one hard-earned by a country where the federal minimum wage still sits at $7.25 per hour despite working full time at that rate placing one very near, or even below, the poverty line. In fact, it’s noted in a press release about the new report that the U.S. falling eight spots from its 2023 position (No. 15) was preceded by “a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30.”
For the seventh straight year, Finland topped the ranking, with Denmark and Iceland rounding out the top three. See more here.
One need not look far for possible reasons why general happiness is on the decline here in the States. Though not specifically cited in Wednesday’s stats or otherwise mentioned in the report, this writer would offer up the following examples as additional potential contributing factors: an impending presidential election that’s a literal repeat of the one from 2020, a largely failed pandemic response across two separate administrations, an ever-increasing divide between everyday people and the super-rich thus squeezing out the possibility of a middle-class existence for many, and (perhaps most detrimentally) an ongoing collective denial that continues to spawn increasingly embarrassing displays of paltry exceptionalism.
While plenty would likely argue that landing at No. 23 isn't the worst case scenario for the U.S., allow me to quote a resounding American parable from a far-away time: If you ain't first, you're last.
