In this BIT: Learn about the effect of kindness on happiness, how to be generous & helping to others, plus more facts about kindness.
March 20th is the International Day of Happiness. On this day the World Happiness Report is released, created by a partnership between the United Nations and a program called Gallup at the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Center. Nordic countries rank highest, with Finland coming in 1st place for the eighth year in a row! Following Finland is Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Canada’s ranking dropped from 16th place in 2024 to 18th in 2025 and the United States happiness ranking dropped from to 24th spot after being in 23th spot in 2024. In addition to the ranking this year’s report focuses a lot on acts of kindness and what the individuals expected from their community. What is the effect of kindness on happiness? How can we be more generous? Keep reading.
This report reveals that 70% of the world’s population performed at least one kind act in the past month! It is heartwarming knowing that such a huge amount of people around the world are kind to others. Kindness has been shown to be very much linked to happiness. In our interview with Dr. Kelli Harding, she talks about the power of kindness spreading like ripples. Doing a kind act not only helps us feel good about doing something nice for another person, it makes the other person feel happier, with the knowledge that someone thought of them and did something nice for them. In addition an act of kindness shows the people in the community – the by-standers – that good and kind people exist and that this world holds good. In short: how can we be more generous? By performing small acts of kindness!
Dr. Lara Aknin, a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia created an experiment. At multiple different universities, a sample group of individuals reported their happiness baseline. Afterwards, they were given $3-5 to spend on either themselves or someone else. The researchers found that the group who spent money on others reported feeling much happier than the other group. “We’re a super social species, and we argue that acts of generosity help build and sustain those connections,” Aknin said.
The World Happiness Report also reported on how individuals view kindness in the community. In most places around the world, people felt that if they lost their wallet it was unlikely that it would be returned if found by a stranger. So the researchers went around the world and dropped wallets to see how many would actually be returned. In almost every place, people underestimated how many people would actually return a lost wallet.
When we start to understand that the world is in fact a nicer and kinder place than we initially believed, it allows for us to take more social risks, that lead to us feeling happier. This type of risk could be complimenting a stranger, making small talk, or helping out someone you don’t know. We feel a lot happier when we know that our own acts of kindness will be recognized with happiness and positivity. Additionally, social connection is a key part of feeling happy. When we feel connected to others, within our families and communities, we are more likely to do small, good things for others, which then increases our own happiness.
Overall, we often underestimate how good and kind others are in the world. When we live knowing that others are good, it increases our acts of kindness, which in turn helps us feel happier. Our mindset of how we perceive the world is so powerful.
We hope that these facts about kindness inspires you to perform a small act of kindness, bringing yourself and your community a Small Bit of Happiness.
For more happiness check out our Mood Boost page.
Featuring quick videos created for teens by teens.
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Learn all about how to be generous, and the effect of being nice to others.