Britons are happier than Germans for the first time in seven years

World Happiness Report reveals that those in the UK feel they have a greater sense of freedom and believe their country is less corrupt

Britons feel happier than Germans for the first time in seven years, an international study has found.
The UK was ranked 20th, four places above Germany, in the World Happiness Report 2024, which lists 143 countries by their happiness levels.
The annual report found that Britons feel they have a greater sense of freedom than Germans and believe there is less corruption in their country.
It marks the first time since the results for 2017 that the UK has ranked higher than Germany on the list of the happiest countries.
The report by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford asked respondents to rank their lives on a scale of 1 to 10.
The average ranking by people in the UK was 6.75 while in Germany it was marginally lower at 6.72.
The latest findings mark a major turnaround from the 2023 report, in which Germany ranked 16th and the UK 19th.
Germans feel there is more corruption in the state than Britons, the new study says, which comes as Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, is embroiled in a tax evasion scandal that has seen him face calls to resign.
People in the UK also feel they have a greater freedom to make life choices than German citizens, according to the study.
When looking at age demographics, the study found that people over 60 in the UK were marginally happier than those in Germany.
But the largest gap between the two countries’ happiness levels can be found in the younger generations.
Germans who are under 30 were found to be significantly less happy than Britons of the same age demographic.
It comes as the study found that younger people across Western Europe and the US were far less happy than older generations.
Both the UK and Germany have fallen in the overall happiness rankings in recent years as their economies have declined.
Germany’s economic growth has stalled following the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic, while the UK slipped into a recession at the end of last year.
The German vice-chancellor said earlier this year that his country’s economy is in “troubled waters”.
Both countries have been knocked down the list by countries from Eastern Europe, such as Lithuania and Slovenia.
The happiest countries continue to be in Scandinavia, with Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden topping this year’s list respectively.
Afghanistan remained the world’s lowest-ranked country for happiness with Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Congo also ranked at the bottom.
The decline in youth happiness uncovered in the report has led to calls for greater support for young people.
Social media has been partly blamed for driving down self-esteem and robbing young people of their wellbeing.
The report found that young people are becoming increasingly exhausted and weighed down in attitudes more reflective of their beleaguered parents.
The report said: “Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain are countries where the old are now significantly happier than the young, while Portugal and Greece show the reverse pattern.”
The Intergenerational Foundation charity said in response to the report: “Young adults are being hit from all sides by a toxic combination of government policy, a housing affordability crisis, stagnating wages, and a high cost of living.
“No wonder their generation is experiencing unprecedented levels of mental ill-health as their futures look so bleak.”
Richard Layard, a professor at the London School of Economics and who helped author the report, said more effort is needed to support the training, mental health and education of young people.