The latest World Happiness Report is out and it doesn't paint a happy picture for young people in the West. The US, ranked No. 15 for happiness last year, has dropped eight places to fall out of the top 20, largely due to a drop in wellbeing among under-30s. The report found that young people are now the unhappiest group in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and the trend is headed the same way in Western Europe.
- Big age differences. According to the report's researchers, who rely on self-reported evaluation, the US ranks 62nd in happiness among young people from 2021 to 2023—but if only the over-60s were included, the US would be in 10th place. Lithuania had the happiest young people, according to the report, while Finland, which was first for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark and Iceland, came in seventh when only the under-30s were included.
- Comparing generations. "In comparing generations, those born before 1965 are, on average, happier than those born since 1980," researchers said. "Among millennials, evaluation of one's own life drops with each year of age, while among boomers life satisfaction increases with age."