Taipei: Taiwan was named the happiest place in East Asia for the year 2025, achieving a global ranking of 26th according to the U.N.-backed World Happiness Report 2026 released on Thursday. With a score of 6.714 out of 10, Taiwan surpassed other East Asian countries and regions such as Singapore, Japan, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong, which ranked 36th, 61st, 65th, 67th, and 90th respectively.

According to Focus Taiwan, the rankings are based on a three-year average of individuals' self-reported well-being from 2023 to 2025. Among the 147 countries and regions evaluated, Finland maintained its position at the top of the list for the ninth consecutive year, scoring 7.764. Iceland followed in second place with a score of 7.540, while Denmark, Costa Rica, and Sweden rounded out the top five with scores of 7.539, 7.439, and 7.255 respectively.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, an editor of the report and a professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Oxford, commented on the relationship between social media use and happiness. He noted that heavy use of social media is linked to a decline in happiness, although not using it at all may result in missing out on certain positive influences.

The report, which is published by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre in collaboration with Gallup and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, debuts each year around March 20 in recognition of the International Day of Happiness. The World Happiness Report first launched in 2012 and continues to provide insights into global well-being trends.