The world may sometimes seem cold, intimidating, and harsh, but if you’re open to seeing it, kindness is abundant out there, according to a new report.
The annual World Happiness Report, released on the International Day of Happiness, is a global study on happiness and well-being, in partnership with Gallup, the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
This year’s report focuses on acts of kindness and people’s expectations of kindness within their communities.
So, what exactly are acts of kindness? The report breaks them down into three categories: donating money, volunteering, and doing something nice for a stranger.
The data reveals that 70% of people worldwide performed at least one kind of act in the past month.
“That’s an incredibly high number,” said Dr. Felix Cheung, the report’s coauthor and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. “We should take this number as a positive sign—seven in ten people around us have done something kind recently.”
While this trend has decreased slightly from the peak seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, it still represents an improvement compared to pre-lockdown numbers, the report found.
“Despite the world feeling challenging at times, it’s comforting to know that people are still engaging in acts of kindness and generosity,” said Dr. Lara Aknin, a professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and an editor of the World Happiness Report.
There’s growing evidence that doing good not only benefits the recipient but also increases the happiness of the person performing the kind act. This sense of benevolence could be a key to boosting happiness, particularly in the United States, where happiness rankings have been slipping. The U.S. ranked 24th in this year’s list of the happiest countries.
Good Deeds Feel Good
While acts like donating money, volunteering, or simply performing a small kind act might seem minor in the grand scheme of happiness, the data suggests otherwise.
“Generosity predicts happiness more than a higher salary,” said Ilana Ron-Levey, managing director of the public sector at Gallup.
Aknin’s research highlights the significant impact of benevolence. In one experiment, participants were given $2 to $5 and told to spend it either on themselves or others. The results consistently showed that those who spent the money on others reported higher levels of happiness.
“This is a fundamental aspect of human nature,” Aknin said. “Generosity helps strengthen and maintain our social connections.”
The ‘Empathy Gap’
Despite the widespread acts of kindness, people often have low expectations of benevolence, Aknin explained.
“We tend to be overly pessimistic about how kind others are,” she said.
The report surveyed people on their expectations of kindness, specifically whether they thought a lost wallet would be returned. Interestingly, the U.S. ranks 17th in the world for believing a neighbour would return a lost wallet, 25th for the police, and only 52nd for a stranger. This suggests a breakdown in social trust, according to Ron-Levey.
“It’s a sign of social cohesion when people believe a stranger will return a lost wallet,” Aknin added.
Researchers have compared people’s expectations with reality by dropping wallets in different cities worldwide. Almost everywhere, people greatly underestimate the likelihood of a stranger returning a wallet. This gap is called the “empathy gap,” Aknin explained.
In the U.S., about a third of people expected a lost wallet to be returned, but two-thirds of wallets were returned.
This "empathy gap" can negatively impact happiness, Aknin said. “If we assume the worst of others, it shapes how we interact with the world. When we expect the worst, we walk around in fear, and that affects our well-being.”
Building Community
The good news is that we can close the empathy gap, Aknin said.
“We’re not asking people to be unrealistically optimistic,” Cheung added. “But when you can build trust and expect kindness from others, it leads to greater happiness.”
The report found that when people take social risks, their perceptions of others’ kindness improve. Aknin’s research shows that when people engage in acts of kindness, they realize that most people respond with positivity.
To maximize the happiness boost from kind acts, Aknin suggests the “three C’s.” First, connect—kind acts are more rewarding when they involve personal, face-to-face interaction, like taking someone out for coffee rather than sending money for them to buy it themselves. Second, choice—doing something kind because you want to, not out of obligation, brings more satisfaction. Lastly, clear impact—helping causes where you can see the benefit, like donating to a charity with tangible results, tend to be the most fulfilling.
The Role of Community in Happiness
Another aspect influencing happiness is social connection. For instance, Ron-Levey pointed out that people who eat alone tend to report lower life satisfaction. In the U.S., one in four people eat all their meals alone, a 53% increase since 2003.
“Isolation and a lack of social connections negatively impact happiness,” she said.
This issue isn’t universal, though. Countries with a strong sense of community, like Finland and other Nordic nations, consistently rank at the top of happiness lists.
“These countries demonstrate how crucial social ties and community are for overall well-being,” Ron-Levey noted.
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