A comprehensive international study has placed the United Kingdom near the bottom of a global ranking on human flourishing, raising serious concerns about national wellbeing—particularly among younger generations.
The Global Flourishing Study, which spans 22 countries across six continents, ranked the UK 20th based on a composite score reflecting happiness, physical and mental health, financial stability, life purpose, and the quality of personal relationships.
The five-year initiative, which began in 2022, aims to survey over 200,000 individuals annually, offering insights into what supports or undermines human wellbeing. The data was gathered from nationally representative samples and now reflects the lived experiences of nearly half the global population.
The latest findings, published in a series of academic papers, present a detailed breakdown of survey responses. Participants were asked a set of 12 core questions about flourishing and many more about their backgrounds, such as their upbringing, educational history, religious involvement, and marital status.
Researchers developed a scoring system to quantify each nation’s overall state of wellbeing on a scale from 1 to 10. “One of the most surprising aspects was the country rankings,” said Professor Tyler VanderWeele, a Harvard epidemiologist and lead researcher on the project. According to the data published in Nature Mental Health, Indonesia ranked highest, followed by Israel, the Philippines, and Mexico. The UK, Turkey, and Japan were at the bottom of the list.
These results differ notably from the World Happiness Report, which often ranks Nordic countries at the top and typically places the UK within the top quarter globally. VanderWeele suggests that while wealthier nations perform better in terms of financial security and life evaluation, they tend to score lower on interpersonal connections and finding meaning in life. Interestingly, higher GDP was often associated with lower scores for life purpose.
Religion was also a point of focus in the study. It found that people who attended religious services as children tended to flourish more as adults, although no definitive causal relationship was established. The project received funding from the John Templeton Foundation, known for its interest in the interface of science and religion.
One of the most concerning revelations was the low flourishing scores among young people in countries like the UK, the US, and Australia. This finding runs counter to previous research that often shows a U-shaped wellbeing curve, where both younger and older people report higher levels of happiness than middle-aged individuals.
In the UK, those aged 18 to 24 reported significantly lower life satisfaction than those aged 25 to 29, who themselves scored lower than individuals over 80, said Dr. Tim Lomas, a psychologist involved in the study. “The youngest age group in the UK appears to be particularly affected,” he noted.
As the research continues, scholars hope to observe how wellbeing shifts in response to global events. VanderWeele noted that individuals can use the same 12-question survey to track their personal wellbeing over time. “I try to take stock every few months. It helps to see where things are improving or deteriorating,” he said.
Professor Kate Pickett, an epidemiologist from the University of York, urged caution in interpreting the results. She pointed out that subjective wellbeing scores don’t always align with objective health metrics. For instance, Japan ranked lowest overall despite having the highest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality among the 22 countries.
Pickett also criticized the omission of COVID-19’s impact in the analysis. “It’s surprising that the pandemic isn’t mentioned, given its significant toll on young people,” she said. “Lockdowns, anxiety, and educational disruptions may have had long-term consequences for their wellbeing.”
She concluded, “There is already overwhelming evidence that to support human flourishing, we need to ensure a strong start in childhood, secure jobs, preventive healthcare, and a reduction in economic inequality.”
