10 Of The Most Happy Countries In Asia 2025

Illustration of the happiest country (Freepik/tawatchai07)

JAKARTA - Taiwan has been named Asia's happiest place based on the 2025 World Happiness report, which was released on Thursday, March 20.

Of the 147 countries in the world, Taiwan ranks 27th, up from its 31st position last year. With this achievement, Taiwan shifts Singapore from the top position in Asia. Taiwan itself is an island with a democratic government that Beijing considers part of its territory.

Globally, Nordic countries are again dominating the list of the happiest countries. Finland remained in first place for 8 consecutive years, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

The World Happiness report was made by leading experts and researchers in the welfare sector. The data used comes from Gallup World Poll, which measures the level of individual happiness based on their own assessment of the quality of life during the 2022-2024 period.

The researchers also analyzed six main factors that affect happiness, namely per capita income, social support, healthy living hopes, freedom, generosity, and corruption levels. Although the ranking of happiness is determined by the subjective assessment of respondents, these six factors help explain the differences in the level of happiness in various countries.

These are the 10 happiest countries in Asia 2025, as reported by the CNBC Make It page!

1. Taiwan

2. Singapore

3. Vietnam

4. Thailand

5. Japan

6. Philippines

7. South Korea

8. Malaysia

9. China

10. Mongolia

According to this report, happiness is not only influenced by economic and health factors, but also by social habits, such as eating together and the level of trust between individuals.

Data from Gallup shows that eating together has an impact that is equivalent to the impact of income and unemployment on a person's happiness. People who eat more often tend to have a higher level of living satisfaction.

"In this era of social isolation and political polarization, we need to find a way to bring people back together at the dining table. This is very important for individual and collective welfare," said Jan-Emmanneel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Center at the University of Oxford.

Taiwan is one of the countries with a high level of shared eating habits. On the other hand, several countries in East and South Asia have lower eating rates.

For example, in Japan and South Korea, the trend of eating alone is increasing. This is influenced by the increasing number of households with one person and demographic changes due to population aging.

Vietnam has experienced a major surge in global happiness rankings. This year, the country rose from its 54th place in 2024 to its 46th. In the last 5 years, Vietnam has surged by almost 40 places, from its 83rd position in 2020.

Overall, this report shows happiness not only about economic and health, but also social relationships. Simple habits such as eating together can contribute greatly to one's well-being.