Happiest country

According to a survey of citizens from 147 nations by Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report’s Editorial Board published in March 2026, the happiest country in the world is Finland. The survey, based largely on three-year figures taken from 2023 to 2025, considers factors such as quality and quantity of life, freedom and generosity to determine a rating for each nation, ranging between 0 and 10. Finland’s final score was 7.764, an increase of 0.375 points from last year’s survey and placing its populace’s satisfaction level just ahead of Iceland (7.540) and Denmark (7.539).

It was the ninth consecutive year in which Finland has been ranked the happiest country by the report.

This was the 14th World Happiness Report, released to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness on 20 March. The results underlined that “Happiness is rooted in trust, kindness, and social connection,” stated Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

In the 2026 iteration, the Top 10 were as follows:

1. Finland (7.764)

2. Iceland (7.540)

3. Denmark (7.539)

4. Costa Rica (7.439)

5. Sweden (7.255)

6. Norway (7.242)

7. Netherlands (7.223)

8. Israel (7.187)

9. Luxembourg (7.063)

10. Switzerland (7.018)

On the opposite end of the scale was Afghanistan, with a score of 1.446.