The economics of happiness is attracting more and more attention from scientific research. This final thesis deals with the economics of happiness and the basic concepts related to it. Happiness economics is compared to the traditional approach to economics. The paper also analyzes the dynamics of the development of happiness in the Republic of Croatia for the period 2017-2023 and compares it with: a) the 20 happiest countries; b) other member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom; and c) other selected countries in the region. Data for 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2023 were additionally considered. The results of the research indicate that, compared to other selected countries in the region, Croatia is positioned somewhere around the "golden mean" in terms of happiness, while Slovenia leads the way. In comparison with the countries of the European Union, Croatia is mostly in the penultimate place with a far below average level of happiness. In the world context, Croatia can be considered a happy country (considering the large number of countries included in the research). Even in the period 2019-2021, it was ranked 47th (out of 146 countries) in terms of happiness. From the results presented in this paper, it is clear that in the last decade there is no connection between GDP growth and happiness index growth; on the contrary, these two variables mostly diverge in the period 2013-2024. Nevertheless, there is significant room for improving Croatia's position in terms of happiness in Europe and the world. The work is enriched with macroeconomic policy guidelines for increasing the happiness of citizens.