Best/Worst
Happiest Countries in the World 2026
World
5.57
5.69%
Global Average The average happiness score across all countries based on the most recent available data.
Finland 7.74
Highest
Afghanistan 1.36
Lowest
World Happiness Score (0-10)
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Countries Ranked by Happiness Index
Country | World Happiness Score 2025 (0-10)↓ | World Happiness Rank 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Finland | 7.74 | 1st |
 | Denmark | 7.52 | 2nd |
 | Iceland | 7.52 | 3rd |
 | Sweden | 7.35 | 4th |
 | Netherlands | 7.31 | 5th |
 | Costa Rica | 7.27 | 6th |
 | Norway | 7.26 | 7th |
 | Israel | 7.23 | 8th |
 | Luxembourg | 7.12 | 9th |
 | Mexico | 6.98 | 10th |
 | Australia | 6.97 | 11th |
 | New Zealand | 6.95 | 12th |
 | Switzerland | 6.94 | 13th |
 | Belgium | 6.91 | 14th |
 | Ireland | 6.89 | 15th |
 | Lithuania | 6.83 | 16th |
 | Austria | 6.81 | 17th |
 | Canada | 6.80 | 18th |
 | Slovenia | 6.79 | 19th |
 | Czechia | 6.78 | 20th |
 | United Arab Emirates | 6.76 | 21st |
 | Germany | 6.75 | 22nd |
 | United Kingdom | 6.73 | 23rd |
 | United States | 6.72 | 24th |
 | Belize | 6.71 | 25th |
 | Taiwan | 6.67 | 27th |
 | Kuwait | 6.63 | 30th |
 | Serbia | 6.61 | 31st |
 | Saudi Arabia | 6.60 | 32nd |
 | France | 6.59 | 33rd |
 | Singapore | 6.57 | 34th |
 | Romania | 6.56 | 35th |
 | Brazil | 6.49 | 36th |
 | El Salvador | 6.49 | 37th |
 | Spain | 6.47 | 38th |
 | Italy | 6.42 | 40th |
 | Estonia | 6.42 | 39th |
 | Panama | 6.41 | 41st |
 | Argentina | 6.40 | 42nd |
 | Kazakhstan | 6.38 | 43rd |
 | Poland | 6.37 | 26th |
 | Chile | 6.36 | 45th |
 | Guatemala | 6.36 | 44th |
 | Vietnam | 6.35 | 46th |
 | Nicaragua | 6.33 | 47th |
 | Malta | 6.32 | 48th |
 | Thailand | 6.22 | 49th |
 | Slovakia | 6.22 | 50th |
 | Latvia | 6.21 | 51st |
 | Oman | 6.20 | 52nd |
 | Uzbekistan | 6.19 | 53rd |
 | Paraguay | 6.17 | 54th |
 | Japan | 6.15 | 55th |
 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6.14 | 56th |
 | Philippines | 6.11 | 57th |
 | South Korea | 6.04 | 58th |
 | Bahrain | 6.03 | 59th |
 | Portugal | 6.01 | 60th |
 | Colombia | 6.00 | 61st |
 | Ecuador | 5.97 | 62nd |
 | Malaysia | 5.96 | 64th |
 | Honduras | 5.96 | 63rd |
 | Russia | 5.95 | 66th |
 | Peru | 5.95 | 65th |
 | Cyprus | 5.94 | 67th |
 | China | 5.92 | 68th |
 | Hungary | 5.92 | 69th |
 | Tunisia | 5.91 | 70th |
 | Montenegro | 5.88 | 71st |
 | Bolivia | 5.87 | 74th |
 | Croatia | 5.87 | 72nd |
 | Jamaica | 5.87 | 73rd |
 | Kyrgyzstan | 5.86 | 75th |
 | Dominican Republic | 5.85 | 76th |
 | Mongolia | 5.83 | 77th |
 | Mauritius | 5.83 | 78th |
 | Libya | 5.82 | 79th |
 | Moldova | 5.82 | 80th |
 | Greece | 5.78 | 81st |
 | Venezuela | 5.68 | 82nd |
 | Indonesia | 5.62 | 83rd |
 | Algeria | 5.57 | 84th |
 | Bulgaria | 5.55 | 85th |
 | North Macedonia | 5.50 | 86th |
 | Hong Kong | 5.49 | 88th |
 | Armenia | 5.49 | 87th |
 | Tajikistan | 5.41 | 90th |
 | Albania | 5.41 | 89th |
 | Georgia | 5.40 | 91st |
 | Nepal | 5.31 | 92nd |
 | Laos | 5.30 | 93rd |
 | Turkey | 5.26 | 94th |
 | South Africa | 5.21 | 95th |
 | Mozambique | 5.19 | 96th |
 | Gabon | 5.12 | 97th |
 | Ivory Coast | 5.10 | 98th |
 | Iran | 5.09 | 99th |
 | Republic of the Congo | 5.03 | 100th |
 | Iraq | 4.98 | 101st |
 | Guinea | 4.93 | 102nd |
 | Namibia | 4.91 | 103rd |
 | Nigeria | 4.89 | 105th |
 | Cameroon | 4.89 | 104th |
 | Azerbaijan | 4.88 | 106th |
 | Senegal | 4.86 | 107th |
 | Palestine | 4.78 | 108th |
 | Pakistan | 4.77 | 109th |
 | Niger | 4.73 | 110th |
 | Ukraine | 4.68 | 111th |
 | Morocco | 4.62 | 112th |
 | Mauritania | 4.54 | 114th |
 | Kenya | 4.51 | 115th |
 | Uganda | 4.46 | 116th |
 | Gambia | 4.42 | 117th |
 | India | 4.39 | 118th |
 | Burkina Faso | 4.38 | 120th |
 | Chad | 4.38 | 119th |
 | Benin | 4.36 | 121st |
 | Mali | 4.35 | 123rd |
 | Somalia | 4.35 | 122nd |
 | Ghana | 4.34 | 125th |
 | Cambodia | 4.34 | 124th |
 | Myanmar | 4.32 | 126th |
 | Togo | 4.32 | 127th |
 | Jordan | 4.31 | 128th |
 | Liberia | 4.28 | 129th |
 | Madagascar | 4.16 | 130th |
 | Zambia | 3.91 | 131st |
 | Ethiopia | 3.90 | 132nd |
 | Sri Lanka | 3.89 | 133rd |
 | Bangladesh | 3.85 | 134th |
 | Egypt | 3.82 | 135th |
 | Tanzania | 3.80 | 136th |
 | Eswatini | 3.77 | 137th |
 | Lesotho | 3.76 | 138th |
 | Comoros | 3.75 | 139th |
 | Yemen | 3.56 | 140th |
 | DR Congo | 3.47 | 141st |
 | Botswana | 3.44 | 142nd |
 | Zimbabwe | 3.40 | 143rd |
 | Malawi | 3.26 | 144th |
 | Lebanon | 3.19 | 145th |
 | Sierra Leone | 3.00 | 146th |
 | Afghanistan | 1.36 | 147th |
- Happiness rankings are three-year averages. For example, 2025 rankings compile data from 2022-2024, while 2024 rankings compile data from 2021-2023.
- Happiness rankings are determined by analyzing comprehensive Gallup polling data from 149 countries in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.
- The following countries lack survey information in 2022, so their 2023 averages are based on the 2020 and 2021 survey: Zambia, Uganda, Turkey, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Slovakia, Singapore, Serbia, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Montenegro, Malaysia, Laos, Iraq, China, Burkina Faso, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bahrain, Algeria
- The following countries lack survey information in 2021, so their 2022 averages are based on the 2019 and 2020 survey: Yemen, Turkmenistan, Rwanda, Palestine, Niger, Mauritania, Madagascar, Luxembourg, Libya, Liberia, Lesotho, Kuwait, , Guatemala, Gambia, Eswatini, Comoros, Chad, Botswana, Belarus, Azerbaijan.
Key Findings
Happiest Countries in the World
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Finland (7.74), Denmark (7.52), Iceland (7.52), and Sweden (7.35) rank as the happiest countries in the world.
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Top-ranked countries tend to combine strong social support systems, higher income levels, longer life expectancy, and greater personal freedom, all of which are associated with higher overall happiness scores.
Least Happy Countries in the World
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Malawi (3.26), Lebanon (3.19), Sierra Leone (3.00), and Afghanistan (1.36) rank as the least happy countries in the world.
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Lower-ranked countries often face political instability, lower income levels, weaker social support, and reduced access to healthcare and basic services.
World Trend Line
Historical Trends
Happiness scores tend to change only slightly year to year within individual countries, while the overall gap between the highest- and lowest-scoring countries remains large.
Countries Ranked by Happiness Index
Country Comparison
Differences between the happiest and least happy countries are largely explained by gaps in income, social support, health, and perceived freedom rather than single factors.
Definitions & Methodology
World Happiness Index The World Happiness Index ranks countries based on self-reported life evaluations collected through Gallup surveys across more than 140 countries.
Happiness Score Factors Scores are calculated using six variables: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
Dystopia Baseline Scores are compared against a hypothetical “Dystopia” baseline representing the lowest possible values across all factors to standardize global comparisons.
Last Updated: May 1, 2026
