Why is Finland the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row while India languishes at 118? How can Pakistan, which is struggling with political instability and recurring International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts score higher than India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy? What does this really say about how we define “happiness”?

The World Happiness Report 2025, by the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford, again places Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden at the top. India’s score is 4.389 of 10, averaging 124 over the years; Pakistan is 109. The contrast seems puzzling against the economic and social realities of both nations.

India, with a $3.7 trillion GDP, is the world’s fifth-largest economy; Pakistan’s $375 billion GDP is barely 10% of that. India’s digital

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