Global study: What really makes people happy

Am I satisfied? What makes me happy? My relationship? My family? My job? A country's gross domestic product says nothing about how its people are doing. Money alone doesn't make you happy. Even in wealthy countries, people can be lonely and dissatisfied.

At the same time, a certain level of prosperity and security is necessary for people to feel hopeful and comfortable. Whether and when we are satisfied depends on our subjective assessments, on our personal well-being.

An international team used new survey data as part of a "Global Flourishing Study" (GFS) to research what constitutes a happy life and which countries people are particularly satisfied in. "Flourishing" means striving for a life filled with meaning, joy, and personal advancement.

Scientific search for a fulfilling life

The results, published in the journal "Nature Mental Health," vary considerably by country. This isn't a country ranking, the researchers write. It's not just the country that matters, but also the responses of respondents from those countries. And results from 22 countries don't represent the entire world.

But some general statements still apply almost everywhere: people who have a job, who live in a relationship or who regularly attend religious events usually have more fulfilling lives.

"Gender differences are small; married people consistently report higher levels of flourishing than people of other marital statuses; employed and retired people perform better than non-employed people; higher levels of education and more frequent participation in religious events – such as church services – are associated with higher levels of flourishing," explains Leonie Steckermeier, junior professor of applied sociology at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, who was not involved in the study.

Global survey contradicts the World Happiness Report

In addition to demographic information and questions about childhood, different areas of life were examined: health, subjective well-being , meaning in life, character, relationships and financial security.

This results in a "flourishing" index. The "flourishing" concept is intended to comprehensively capture the quality of all areas of a person's life. More than 200,000 people from 22 different countries worldwide – including Germany – were surveyed. These surveys will be repeated annually with the same people in the coming years in order to analyze changes over time.

Researchers particularly appreciate the new study's extensive dataset, the results of which differ considerably from those of the annual World Happiness Report , according to Prof. Dr. Hilke Brockmann, Associate Professor of Sociology at Constructor University Bremen: "The country rankings do not match those of this year's World Happiness Report (WHP), which (always) places thewealthy Scandinavian nations at the top. Conversely, Indonesia ranks first in the GFS, but 83rd in the WHP 2025."

Happiness in old age, worries in youth

The findings on "flourishing" over the life course are particularly surprising: many happiness researchers assume a U-shaped course of life satisfaction.

However, subjective well-being varies significantly across countries: for example, flourishing increases with age in Australia , Brazil , Japan , Sweden , and the USA . In Indonesia, Kenya, and Turkey, it remains constant throughout life, while in India and Tanzania, it decreases over the course of life.

"This is exciting and puzzling. The authors cannot offer any explanation beyond the assumption that a new development is emerging here.

In general, the new study offers little explanation for possible causes. It also offers no recommendations. "The various country-specific differences also remain puzzling. This is because the 'flourishing' concept speaks very generally about contexts without spelling them out in more detail," says Steckenmeier. However, the data collected can help to clarify the national differences. "to break down thoroughly and explain causally."

Youth shapes life

What is particularly sad and worrying is that younger generations "are significantly lagging behind the level of previous generations in both their subjective and mental well-being," says the junior professor for applied sociology at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.

Overall, "a surprisingly low level of flourishing is found in the younger age groups. This, as the authors themselves note, is surprising from a scientific perspective and worrying from a policy perspective."

The new study clearly shows how strongly satisfaction depends on mental and physical health, close social relationships and financial and material stability.

And that "stressful living conditions in childhood are associated with lower levels of flourishing in adulthood," according to Steckenmeier, such as the relationship with parents, the financial situation in the household, or one's own health in early adolescence. "This also reveals the long shadow of earlier childhood events – such as child abuse," says sociologist Hilke Brockmann.

Source:

The Global Flourishing Study: Study Profile and Initial Results on Flourishing. Nature Mental Health. DOI: 10.1038/s44220-025-00423-5.