Most Americans don't pay attention to the goings on in the rest of the world. The U.S. news media generally focuses on just a few stories that relate to other countries, such as the Ukraine-Russian war and the Israel-Gaza genocide. But there's a lot more going on.
The map on this page gives you a quick, at-a-glance indication about the state of the world. You can think of this as a heat map that shows the current state of countries. The countries in the darkest green are the good guys, and those in lighter green are a bit less good. The countries in the darkest red are the bad guys, and those in lighter red are a bit less bad.
We're not going to bias the results by assuming that a country is "bad" because it's not a democracy or it's "good" because it is. There's lots of factors that go into the determination. To see what those factors are for a specific country, see the country details below the map.
World Happiness Report 2025: 84th.
Reports of femicide are troubling. Same-sex relations are punished by up to two years in prison and a fine. Freedom of movement is an issue, with penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment for “anyone who facilitates or attempts to facilitate, directly or indirectly” an irregular exit.
World Happiness Report 2025: 42nd out of 147
World Happiness Report 2025: 10th out of 147
World Happiness Report 2025: 39th out of 147
World Happiness Report 2025: 44th out of 147. This ranking has varied greatly over the past few years, likely caused by the Bolsonaro government.
Capital punishment: No
World Happiness Report 2025: extremely low, not ranked
Capital punishment: No
World Happiness Report 2025: 18th out of 147—a decline from number 15 in 2024. This may get better with the Liberal party win in 2025.
Canadians soundly rejected Canadian MAGA-like politicians in 2025. They elected the Liberal Party's Mark Carney for Prime Minister.
Carney wins Canadian election, while Conservative leader loses his seat in Parliament
World Happiness Report 2024: 119th out of 143
World Happiness Report 2020: not ranked, but a score of 3.08 out of 10. No more recent data.
World Happiness Report 2024: 38th out of 143. Second happiest country in South America (Uruguay is first).
World Happiness Report 2024: 60th out of 143. We're taking no position on the Taiwan issue.
World Happiness Report 2023: 72nd out of 136.
Authoritarian government. Many arrests of protesters and dissidents. Torture.
In recent times, human rights in Mongolia have been improving.
Norway is number 7 in the list of Happiest Countries in the World 2025. Some issues with prisons, an increase in rape, and discrimination against people of African descent.
In the World Happiness Report 2025, Pakistan ranks 109th out of 147 countries. Much political unrest leading to violence.
World Happiness Report 2024: 72nd.
The administration of Donald Trump and the Republican Party that supports him is destroying the institutions of democracy. Trump is defying U.S. law, the courts, and the norms of the government.
In 2023, journalist Glen Greenwald, speaking at a conference on privacy and surveillance, described the United States democracy in this audio:
Greenwald made those comments before Trump and Elon Musk became co-presidents in 2024. What would he say now?
ACLU: The U.S. Touts Itself as a Global Leader in Human Rights. A New U.N. Report Says Otherwise.