ISRAEL - How to Explain Israel’s High Rankings

One of the conundrums I often confront is how to comprehend Israel’s consistent ranking in the top 10 countries in the World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Center at the University of Oxford, in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an independent editorial board.

It measures people’s self-assessed life evaluations, averaged over three years. The report uses factors including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption to help explain differences between countries. For the last five years, Israel has ranked in the top 10, reaching a peak of fourth in 2023, fifth in 2024, and eighth in 2025.

It is this pride that elevates Israelis to a state of happiness and meaning, and fuels its rise in the rankings. For Israelis and Jews, Israel is not just a military superpower, a safe haven or the start-up nation, it is a beacon of light where Jews are in control of their destiny.

-themedialine.org, 31 July 2026

Commentary: Wikipedia explains: “The first World Happiness Report was released on 1 April 2012, as a foundational text for the UN High Level Meeting: Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, drawing international attention.”

We have repeatedly published articles on the World Happiness Report, particularly due to the high position Israel is ranked. One would assume that the constant threat from surrounding enemies and the significant increase in antisemitism the world over would produce a different result, yet Israel remains calm.

Nationmaster crime statistics and US data show that the US homicide rates typically hover around 5-6 per 100,000 residents, while in Israel the rate ranges from 1.2 to 2.2 per 100,000.

While various sources of statistics are not necessarily reliable, they give us some approximate comparison. That is one thing. The other is the quality of life and life expectancy. According to Worldometers, life expectancy in Israel is 82.9 years; in the USA, it’s 79.7 years.

While the Happiness Report ranks Israel in 8th place, with the top five being in Europe, one must keep in mind that Israel is a young nation, developed virtually out of nothing—no allies, no friends, and no recognition before 1948. That, however, has changed dramatically, and we have reason to believe it will continue. The reason? A prophecy some 3,500 years old: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2).

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