About International Day of Happiness
The International Day of Happiness is a United Nations observance on 20 March, which in 2027 falls on Saturday, 20 March 2027. The General Assembly created it in July 2012 through resolution 66/281, on a proposal led by Bhutan, and it was first marked in 2013. The World Happiness Report is published on this date each year. In India the day is used mostly by schools, workplaces and mental health organisations.
The International Day of Happiness has an unusually specific origin: a small Himalayan country spent forty years arguing that governments measure the wrong things, and eventually the United Nations agreed to put a date on it.
Why is the International Day of Happiness on 20 March?
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 20 March as the International Day of Happiness on 12 July 2012, through resolution 66/281, and the first observance was in 2013. The proposal was led by Bhutan, which had treated happiness as a policy goal since the early 1970s under the idea of Gross National Happiness, and which in 2012 hosted a high-level meeting at the UN on building an economic model around wellbeing rather than output alone.
The resolution's argument is that the pursuit of happiness is a basic human goal, and that economic growth should be measured alongside the wellbeing of the people it is supposed to serve. The date itself carries no story: 20 March is close to the equinox, when day and night are near equal almost everywhere, which is the reading usually offered but not something the resolution states.
What is the World Happiness Report, and where does India rank?
The World Happiness Report is released each year on 20 March, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Its main ranking is not a measure of cheerfulness. It asks people to rate their own life on a ladder from 0 to 10, then uses six factors to explain the differences between countries: income per person, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
India ranked 116th out of 147 countries in the 2026 edition, an improvement on 118th the year before. Finland has topped the table every year since 2018. Researchers in India regularly question the ranking on methodology grounds, and it is fair to treat it as one survey rather than a verdict.
What does India do on the International Day of Happiness?
Two Indian experiments get cited on this day more than anything else.
Madhya Pradesh created India's first state happiness department in 2016, the Anand Vibhag, later run through the Rajya Anand Sansthan, with a mandate to run wellbeing programmes and volunteer networks across the state. Delhi followed in July 2018 with the Happiness Curriculum in government schools, launched with the Dalai Lama, covering children from nursery to Class 8. The design is simple: a 45-minute period, starting with a few minutes of mindfulness, then a story or an activity and a discussion. There is no exam. It runs across more than a thousand schools and has been studied internationally.
Beyond that, the day mostly shows up as school assemblies, gratitude walls in offices, and mental health awareness sessions.
| Approach | Where | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Gross National Happiness | Bhutan, since the 1970s | A national index used in policy decisions, covering health, education, culture, time use and ecology |
| Anand Vibhag | Madhya Pradesh, 2016 | India's first state department devoted to wellbeing, running volunteer and community programmes |
| Happiness Curriculum | Delhi government schools, 2018 | A daily 45-minute class for nursery to Class 8, with mindfulness, stories and discussion, and no examination |
| World Happiness Report | Global, released 20 March | Rankings based on people rating their own lives, explained by income, social support, health, freedom, generosity and corruption |
How to mark the day honestly
- Make one contactThe single strongest finding across happiness research is that relationships matter most. Call the person you have been meaning to call.
- Do a small thing for someoneGenerosity is one of the six factors in the ranking. Pay for a stranger's chai, donate blood, clear one task off a colleague's plate.
- Get outsideTwenty minutes of daylight and a walk does more for most people than anything you can buy today.
- Cut one thing that drains youAn app, a group chat, a commitment you dread. Removing a source of stress works better than adding a source of joy.
- Ask a real question at workReplace the gratitude wall with one honest conversation about workload. It is the less pleasant option and the more useful one.
What to write on the International Day of Happiness
Happy International Day of Happiness. You are on my short list of people who make an ordinary Tuesday better. Free for a walk this evening?
Happy Day of Happiness, Ma. You taught us to find the good in a fairly plain life, and it turns out that is the whole skill. Calling tonight.
Happy Day of Happiness. Most of my good days recently have had you in them, usually doing something completely unremarkable.
Happy International Day of Happiness. Working with someone who stays calm when things go wrong is underrated. Thank you for being that person.
It is the International Day of Happiness, which is a bit much for a week like yours. No cheer from me. I am around, whenever, for whatever.
Happy Day of Happiness! Your job today is to laugh at something silly and teach me how you did it.
Happy International Day of Happiness. We are logging off at five today, and anything not urgent can wait until tomorrow.
Happy Day of Happiness. You made a difficult year lighter for me and you probably do not know it. Saying it now.
Do
- Offer something concrete: a walk, a call, a meal, an hour of your time.
- Name a specific thing about the person that makes your life better.
- If you run a team, mark the day with a change to workload or hours rather than a poster.
Avoid
- Don't tell people to choose happiness or to think positive. It reads as dismissal.
- Don't use the day to sell wellness. A free app subscription is not a substitute for a manageable job.
- Don't assume the day is light for everyone. For someone in grief, a cheerful forward is unwelcome.
Related days: World Mental Health Day on 10 October, World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, International Day of Yoga on 21 June, and International Day of Friendship on 30 July.
How to wish someone on International Day of Happiness
This day sits close to mental health, so the tone matters. A message that orders someone to be happy can land badly with a person who is struggling. The better approach is to name what makes you glad about them, or to make a small offer: a walk, a call, a meal. Keep it warm and grounded rather than motivational.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Day of Happiness in 2026 and 2027?
International Day of Happiness is on 20 Mar every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is International Day of Happiness in 2027?
International Day of Happiness 2027 falls on Saturday, 20 March 2027.
Why is the International Day of Happiness celebrated on 20 March?
The United Nations General Assembly chose the date when it created the day through resolution 66/281 on 12 July 2012, on a proposal led by Bhutan. The first observance was in 2013. The date is close to the March equinox, though the resolution itself gives no reason for it.
What is the connection between Bhutan and the International Day of Happiness?
Bhutan led the proposal at the United Nations and had treated happiness as a measure of national progress since the early 1970s through its idea of Gross National Happiness. In 2012 it hosted a high-level UN meeting on making wellbeing part of how countries measure development.
Where does India rank in the World Happiness Report?
India ranked 116th out of 147 countries in the 2026 World Happiness Report, up from 118th in the 2025 edition. The ranking is based on people rating their own lives on a 0 to 10 scale, and Indian researchers have raised questions about how the survey is carried out in India.
What is the Happiness Curriculum in Delhi schools?
It is a daily 45-minute class for children from nursery to Class 8 in Delhi government schools, introduced in July 2018. Each session begins with a few minutes of mindfulness and moves to a story, an activity and a discussion. There is no examination, and progress is assessed informally.
How can an office mark the International Day of Happiness?
The changes that matter are structural: a firm finish time for the day, one fewer meeting, a clear rule that non-urgent messages can wait. Gratitude walls and sweets are easy, but employees usually rate workload and predictability above either.
Is happiness measured in India by the government?
Not nationally, but Madhya Pradesh set up India's first state happiness department, the Anand Vibhag, in 2016, running wellbeing and volunteer programmes through the Rajya Anand Sansthan. Delhi's Happiness Curriculum is the other well-known government effort.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .