This Country Is the Happiest Place in East Asia—and It Has Incredible Street Food, Beautiful National Parks, and Bubbling Hot Springs
Taiwan was named the happiest country in the World Happiness Report 2025.
The island country stood out with strong marks in perceived and actual benevolence.
In Taiwan, travelers can experience gorgeous national parks, hot springs, and incredible street food culture.
Taiwan has claimed the top spot as the happiest nation in East Asia, according to Gallup's World Happiness Report 2025. The island nation ranked 27th globally and outperformed its neighbors, such as Japan, South Korea, and China.
147 countries were analyzed in this year's report. In 2024, Taiwan came in at 31st, but this year, the island overtook Singapore as the happiest country in East Asia. Finland—for the eighth consecutive time in a row—ranked as the happiest country in the world overall.
For its report, Gallup collected self-assessments from more than 100,000 international participants. For its analysis, the polling organization also took into account six factors: healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, the feeling of having someone to count on, the average frequency of donations, having a sense of freedom to make key life decisions, and individuals' perceptions of corruption in government and business.
One of the standout findings of this year's report is that much of our sense of well-being depends on our perception of others' benevolence—it's a stronger predictor of happiness than actual or expected harms. Taiwan stands out with strong scores in both perceived and actual benevolence.
"... when society is more benevolent, the people who benefit most are those who are least happy," a Gallup report shared with Travel + Leisure stated. "As a result, happiness is more equally distributed in countries with higher levels of expected benevolence."
Taiwan is perhaps best known for its vibrant street food culture, robust national park system (which includes the easily accessible Yangmingshan National Park), and colorful history. Taipei, the nation's capital, is known for its night markets, towering skyscrapers, and attractions like the National Palace Museum, home to one of the world's largest collections of Chinese art. Tainan, often called Taiwan's cultural capital, is a great place to enjoy centuries-old architecture, Southern-style Taiwanese food, and a more laid-back lifestyle.
Food, of course, is central to the Taiwanese experience. Night markets offer fresh tastings of local dishes like oyster omelets, braised pork rice, and stinky tofu. The country is also the birthplace of bubble tea, now a global phenomenon. You can further explore Taiwan's tea culture by taking a day trip from Taipei to tour Maokong's hillside farms.
But if you want to take it easy on your next vacation, consider taking a dip in one of Taiwan's many natural hot springs. Beitou, just outside Taipei, is a great day-trip destination from the capital and has Japanese-style public bathhouses, private rooms, and higher-end resorts. For something more low-key, visit the small towns of Wulai or Ruisui, where you can enjoy a soak with mountainous views.
Despite Taiwan's small size, there's so much to see around the island. But thanks to its robust train and high-speed rail network, it's easy to get around the country and experience a spectrum of environments.
Other East Asian countries that made the top 10, respectively, include Singapore, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, and China.
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