Curated list · 2026
Happiest countries in the world
Ranked by World Happiness Report score (0-10), happiest first.
This ranking follows the World Happiness Report's ladder score, in which people rate their own lives from 0 to 10 and results are averaged over three years. The scores correlate with income, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and low corruption. Nordic countries dominate the top, so for a relocator the list is less about weather and more about trust, safety nets and institutions.
| # | Country | Happiness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Finland | 7.81 |
| 2 |  Denmark | 7.65 |
| 3 |  Switzerland | 7.56 |
| 4 |  Iceland | 7.5 |
| 5 |  Norway | 7.49 |
| 6 |  Netherlands | 7.45 |
| 7 |  Sweden | 7.35 |
| 8 |  New Zealand | 7.3 |
| 9 |  Austria | 7.29 |
| 10 |  Luxembourg | 7.24 |
| 11 |  Canada | 7.23 |
| 12 |  Australia | 7.22 |
| 13 |  United Kingdom | 7.16 |
| 14 |  Israel | 7.13 |
| 15 |  Costa Rica | 7.12 |
| 16 |  Ireland | 7.09 |
| 17 |  Germany | 7.08 |
| 18 |  United States | 6.94 |
| 19 |  Belgium | 6.86 |
| 20 |  United Arab Emirates | 6.79 |
| 21 |  Malta | 6.77 |
| 22 |  France | 6.66 |
| 23 |  Mexico | 6.47 |
| 24 |  Uruguay | 6.44 |
| 25 |  Saudi Arabia | 6.41 |
| 26 |  Spain | 6.4 |
| 27 |  Guatemala | 6.4 |
| 28 |  Italy | 6.39 |
| 29 |  Singapore | 6.38 |
| 30 |  Brazil | 6.38 |
| 31 |  Slovenia | 6.36 |
| 32 |  El Salvador | 6.35 |
| 33 |  Kosovo | 6.33 |
| 34 |  Panama | 6.3 |
| 35 |  Slovakia | 6.28 |
| 36 |  Uzbekistan | 6.26 |
| 37 |  Chile | 6.23 |
| 38 |  Bahrain | 6.23 |
| 39 |  Lithuania | 6.22 |
| 40 |  Poland | 6.19 |
| 41 |  Cyprus | 6.16 |
| 42 |  Colombia | 6.16 |
| 43 |  Nicaragua | 6.14 |
| 44 |  Romania | 6.12 |
| 45 |  Mauritius | 6.1 |
| 46 |  Kuwait | 6.1 |
| 47 |  Kazakhstan | 6.06 |
| 48 |  Estonia | 6.02 |
| 49 |  Philippines | 6.01 |
| 50 |  Thailand | 6.0 |
| 51 |  Hungary | 6.0 |
| 52 |  Argentina | 5.97 |
| 53 |  Latvia | 5.95 |
| 54 |  Honduras | 5.95 |
| 55 |  Ecuador | 5.93 |
| 56 |  Portugal | 5.91 |
| 57 |  Jamaica | 5.89 |
| 58 |  Japan | 5.87 |
| 59 |  Peru | 5.8 |
| 60 |  Serbia | 5.78 |
| 61 |  Bolivia | 5.75 |
| 62 |  Paraguay | 5.69 |
| 63 |  Dominican Republic | 5.69 |
| 64 |  Pakistan | 5.69 |
| 65 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.67 |
| 66 |  Moldova | 5.61 |
| 67 |  Tajikistan | 5.56 |
| 68 |  Montenegro | 5.55 |
| 69 |  Russia | 5.55 |
| 70 |  Belarus | 5.54 |
| 71 |  Kyrgyzstan | 5.54 |
| 72 |  Greece | 5.51 |
| 73 |  Croatia | 5.5 |
| 74 |  Libya | 5.49 |
| 75 |  Mongolia | 5.46 |
| 76 |  Malaysia | 5.38 |
| 77 |  Vietnam | 5.35 |
| 78 |  Indonesia | 5.29 |
| 79 |  Benin | 5.22 |
| 80 |  Azerbaijan | 5.16 |
| 81 |  Ghana | 5.15 |
| 82 |  Nepal | 5.14 |
| 83 |  Turkey | 5.13 |
| 84 |  Turkmenistan | 5.12 |
| 85 |  China | 5.12 |
| 86 |  Bulgaria | 5.1 |
| 87 |  Morocco | 5.09 |
| 88 |  Cameroon | 5.08 |
| 89 |  Venezuela | 5.05 |
| 90 |  Algeria | 5.01 |
| 91 |  Senegal | 4.98 |
| 92 |  Guinea | 4.95 |
| 93 |  Niger | 4.91 |
| 94 |  Albania | 4.88 |
| 95 |  Cambodia | 4.85 |
| 96 |  Gabon | 4.83 |
| 97 |  Bangladesh | 4.83 |
| 98 |  South Africa | 4.81 |
| 99 |  Iraq | 4.78 |
| 100 |  Burkina Faso | 4.77 |
| 101 |  Lebanon | 4.77 |
| 102 |  Mali | 4.73 |
| 103 |  Nigeria | 4.72 |
| 104 |  Armenia | 4.68 |
| 105 |  Iran | 4.67 |
| 106 |  Georgia | 4.67 |
| 107 |  Jordan | 4.63 |
| 108 |  Kenya | 4.58 |
| 109 |  Liberia | 4.56 |
| 110 |  Ukraine | 4.56 |
| 111 |  Uganda | 4.43 |
| 112 |  Chad | 4.42 |
| 113 |  Tunisia | 4.39 |
| 114 |  Mauritania | 4.37 |
| 115 |  Sri Lanka | 4.33 |
| 116 |  Myanmar | 4.31 |
| 117 |  Togo | 4.19 |
| 118 |  Ethiopia | 4.19 |
| 119 |  Madagascar | 4.17 |
| 120 |  Egypt | 4.15 |
| 121 |  Sierra Leone | 3.93 |
| 122 |  Burundi | 3.78 |
| 123 |  Zambia | 3.76 |
| 124 |  India | 3.57 |
| 125 |  Malawi | 3.54 |
| 126 |  Botswana | 3.48 |
| 127 |  Tanzania | 3.48 |
| 128 |  Rwanda | 3.31 |
| 129 |  Zimbabwe | 3.3 |
| 130 |  Afghanistan | 2.57 |
Source: World Happiness Report ladder score.
Frequently asked questions
What is the happiest country in the world?
Finland has held the number one spot in the World Happiness Report every year since 2018. Other Nordic countries, especially Denmark and Iceland, fill out most of the top five. The ranking is based on residents' own assessments of their lives, not just economic data.
Why is Finland the happiest country?
Finland scores highly on the factors the report tracks: strong social support, trust in institutions, low corruption, good healthcare and education, and a sense of freedom and security. High income helps, but so does a reliable safety net and low inequality. Finns also report modest, stable expectations, which supports steady life satisfaction.
How is happiness measured?
The World Happiness Report uses the Gallup World Poll, where people rate their current lives on a 0-to-10 ladder, averaged over three years. Researchers then explain the scores using six factors: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. The ranking itself comes from the self-reported ladder scores, not from those factors directly.
Where does the United States rank in happiness?
The US has slipped out of the top 20 in recent editions of the World Happiness Report, its lowest position since the survey began. Declining social trust, lower well-being among younger adults and more people reporting isolation have weighed on the score. It still ranks well above the global average.