International Day of Happiness
Next: March 20, 2027
Pass a little happiness on.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Happiness in 2012, in resolution 66/281, and it was first held on 20 March 2013. The idea came from Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that since the early 1970s has valued national happiness over national income and famously adopted Gross National Happiness as its goal. Bhutan had also hosted a UN high-level meeting called 'Happiness and Well-Being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm'. The resolution asks countries to treat happiness and well-being as aims of public policy, not only economic growth.
How it's celebrated
Schools, workplaces and communities hold events about kindness, well-being and connection. The World Happiness Report, which ranks countries by how people rate their own lives, is released around 20 March each year. The simplest way to join in is to do something that makes someone else happy, such as sending them a card.
Did you know
- The first World Happiness Report was presented on 2 April 2012, before the day itself existed.
- The report is now published by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
- On the first Happiness Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: 'When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched.'
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