By Brian Campued
Some find happiness by doing things they are passionate about or even in the most mundane and simplest moments; but for others, joy seems to always be beyond their grasp. Happiness can be very subjective; it varies from person to person, depending on the situation and state of life they are living.
In the Philippines, it seems that only three out of ten Filipinos are “very happy” with their lives, according to a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Nov. 24–30, 2025.
The survey released on Friday coinciding with the observance of the International Day of Happiness, found that 33% said they were “very happy” while 50% said they were “fairly happy.”
On the other hand, about 15% said they were “not very happy,” while 2% were “not at all happy.”
According to SWS, the percentage of very happy adults in November 2025 was similar to 31% in March 2025, while the 50% fairly happy was three points below 53% during the same period.
“The percentage of very happy was highest in the Visayas at 40% (up from 36% in March 2025), followed by Mindanao at 34% (hardly moving from 35%), Balance Luzon at 32% (up from 27%), and Metro Manila at 24% (down from 28%),” the pollster said.
Fairly happy adults were most common in Metro Manila and Mindanao at 52% while Balance Luzon and Visayas recorded 49%.
Similarly, Filipino adults who said they were “very satisfied” with their lives last year were recorded at 28%, while 51% said they were “fairly satisfied.”
Around 14% answered “not very satisfied” and 7% claimed they were “not at all satisfied.”
Satisfaction was highest in the Visayas for very satisfied individuals at 35%, followed by Metro Manila and Balance Luzon at 27%, and Mindanao at 25%.
“On the other hand, those fairly satisfied with life were highest in Balance Luzon at 56%, followed by Metro Manila at 54%, the Visayas at 48%, and Mindanao at 43%,” SWS said.
The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide—300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Happiest in the World
Meanwhile, the Philippines climbed one spot to 56th in The World Happiness Report 2026, released by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center in partnership with Gallup, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and an independent editorial board.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranks as the fourth happiest country, surpassed by Singapore (36th in the world), Vietnam (45th), and Thailand (52nd).
Worldwide, Finland took the top spot again—a position it has held since 2017. The Nordic country was followed by Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
On the other hand, Afghanistan remained the lowest-ranked country (147th), along with Sierra Leone (146th), Malawi (145th), Zimbabwe (144th), and Botswana (143rd).
On July 12, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 20 as the International Day of Happiness, recognizing happiness and well-being as universal goals relevant to public policy.
The World Happiness Report is released on the said day each year as part of the celebrations.
According to its website, the publication said its happiness ranking is based on a single life evaluation question called the Cantril Ladder, in which people are asked to rate their current lives on a scale of 0–10, with 10 being the best possible life and 0 the worst.
The report likewise analyzes life satisfaction based on six core variables: Having someone to count on; log GDP per capita; healthy life expectancy; freedom to make life choices; generosity and; freedom from corruption.
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