Canada dropped to 15th place in the annual World Happiness Report, after being in 13th place last year, now behind countries such as Costa Rica, Kuwait, and Austria.

John Helliwell, the Canadian economist and founding editor of the World Happiness Reports, told CTV News on Wednesday: "What has happened in Canada and the United States is that over the past few years, people under 30 years old have become much less happy than they were 10 or 12 years ago."

He continued, "There hasn’t been much change among people over 60 years old, nor is there any change in their life conditions, so clearly it is concerning."

Based on survey data from 140 countries, the report uses six key variables to help interpret participants' life evaluations: GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption. The 2024 report was also the first report to include separate rankings by age, revealing stark differences between the young and the old in many countries.

Helliwell, an emeritus professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia, believes that negative news in English-speaking media—especially social media—can be partly blamed for Canada’s drop on the happiness scale.

"We just looked and said: how is it done in Quebec?" Helliwell explained that Quebec does not focus heavily on English-language media. "In fact, the drop among young people in Quebec is half of what it is in the rest of Canada."

According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, the 20 happiest countries in the world are:

  Finland;

  Denmark;

  Iceland;

  Sweden;

  Israel;

  The Netherlands;

  Norway;

  Luxembourg;

  Switzerland;

  Australia;

  New Zealand;

  Costa Rica;

  Kuwait;

  Austria;

  Canada;

Belgium;

  Ireland;

  Czechia;

  Lithuania; and

  The United Kingdom

Finland ranked first for the seventh consecutive year. The United States fell from 15th place to 23rd. At the bottom of the list were Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Lesotho.

Helliwell believes it is possible to change young people's attitudes to make Canada a happier place.

Helliwell said: "The good news is that everyone is more generous than they think," "Act as if you believe that. Act as if the stranger you meet on the street is not a stranger, but just a friend you have not met yet. Smile at them, talk to them, build relationships. This is the first step on the path to a happier society."