Taiwan has been named the happiest place in Asia, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report.
Ranking 27th globally, Taiwan has climbed from 31st last year, surpassing Singapore as the leading country in Asia.
Following Taiwan in the Asia rankings are Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, China, and Mongolia.
Laos, on the other hand, is ranked 93rd, just behind China (92nd) and ahead of Mongolia (94th).
Vietnam made a notable improvement this year, rising from 54th place in 2024 to 46th in 2025. Over the past five years, the country has surged nearly 40 spots, moving up from 83rd in 2020.
The World Happiness Report is a collaborative effort from leading global experts in well-being science. It is based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which measures individuals’ self-reported life evaluations, averaged over the period from 2022 to 2024. The ranking takes into account six key factors: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.
Although the happiness ranking reflects people’s subjective assessments of their quality of life, these six factors offer deeper insights into the differences between nations, according to the report.