The map above shows the 10 happiest countries in the world based on the World Happiness Report 2026.
And as you can see all but 2 are European countries. From the report:
– Nordic countries lead the happiness rankings once again. Finland is still in a group of one at the top, followed by a group of three: Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica. Sweden and Norway complete the top six, followed by the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland to round out the top ten. Costa Rica’s rise to 4th marks the highest ever ranking for a Latin American country.
– In general, most Western industrial countries are now less happy than they were between 2005 and 2010. Fifteen of them have had significant drops, compared to four with significant increases.
– In a ranking of happiness changes for under-25s, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (the NANZ region) rank between 122 and 133 in the list of 136 countries.
Interestingly, one of the happiest countries borders one of the 10 unhappiest countries. Can you guess which?
The map below should help:
And in case you missed it, Israel is the 8th happiest country in the world, but border Lebanon which is the 7th unhappiest.
Here is a summary of the full rankings:
| Rank | Country name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Finland |
| 2 | Iceland |
| 3 | Denmark |
| 4 | Costa Rica |
| 5 | Sweden |
| 6 | Norway |
| 7 | Netherlands |
| 8 | Israel |
| 9 | Luxembourg |
| 10 | Switzerland |
| 11 | New Zealand |
| 12 | Mexico |
| 13 | Ireland |
| 14 | Belgium |
| 15 | Australia |
| 16 | Kosovo |
| 17 | Germany |
| 18 | Slovenia |
| 19 | Austria |
| 20 | Czechia |
| 21 | United Arab Emirates |
| 22 | Saudi Arabia |
| 23 | United States |
| 24 | Poland |
| 25 | Canada |
| 26 | Taiwan Province of China |
| 27 | Belize |
| 28 | Lithuania |
| 29 | United Kingdom |
| 30 | Serbia |
| 31 | Uruguay |
| 32 | Brazil |
| 33 | Kazakhstan |
| 34 | Romania |
| 35 | France |
| 36 | Singapore |
| 37 | El Salvador |
| 38 | Italy |
| 39 | Panama |
| 40 | Kuwait |
| 41 | Spain |
| 42 | Guatemala |
| 43 | Malta |
| 44 | Argentina |
| 45 | Viet Nam |
| 46 | Estonia |
| 47 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 48 | Latvia |
| 49 | Jamaica |
| 50 | Chile |
| 51 | Nicaragua |
| 52 | Thailand |
| 53 | Uzbekistan |
| 54 | Slovakia |
| 55 | Bahrain |
| 56 | Philippines |
| 57 | Paraguay |
| 58 | Oman |
| 59 | Ecuador |
| 60 | Montenegro |
| 61 | Japan |
| 62 | Cyprus |
| 63 | Honduras |
| 64 | Dominican Republic |
| 65 | China |
| 66 | Kyrgyzstan |
| 67 | Republic of Korea |
| 68 | Colombia |
| 69 | Portugal |
| 70 | Croatia |
| 71 | Malaysia |
| 72 | Peru |
| 73 | Mauritius |
| 74 | Hungary |
| 75 | Mongolia |
| 76 | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 77 | Republic of Moldova |
| 78 | Bolivia |
| 79 | Russian Federation |
| 80 | Venezuela |
| 81 | Libya |
| 82 | North Macedonia |
| 83 | Algeria |
| 84 | Bulgaria |
| 85 | Greece |
| 86 | Albania |
| 87 | Indonesia |
| 88 | Tajikistan |
| 89 | Armenia |
| 90 | Hong Kong SAR of China |
| 91 | Georgia |
| 92 | Lao PDR |
| 93 | Mozambique |
| 94 | Türkiye |
| 95 | Iraq |
| 96 | Gabon |
| 97 | Iran |
| 98 | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 99 | Nepal |
| 100 | Cameroon |
| 101 | South Africa |
| 102 | Azerbaijan |
| 103 | Niger |
| 104 | Pakistan |
| 105 | Tunisia |
| 106 | Nigeria |
| 107 | Senegal |
| 108 | Namibia |
| 109 | State of Palestine |
| 110 | Kenya |
| 111 | Ukraine |
| 112 | Morocco |
| 113 | Guinea |
| 114 | Mali |
| 115 | Ghana |
| 116 | India |
| 117 | Somalia |
| 118 | Uganda |
| 119 | Jordan |
| 120 | Mauritania |
| 121 | Cambodia |
| 122 | Congo |
| 123 | Burkina Faso |
| 124 | Benin |
| 125 | Chad |
| 126 | Lesotho |
| 127 | Bangladesh |
| 128 | Gambia |
| 129 | Myanmar |
| 130 | Liberia |
| 131 | Togo |
| 132 | Madagascar |
| 133 | Zambia |
| 134 | Sri Lanka |
| 135 | Ethiopia |
| 136 | Comoros |
| 137 | Eswatini |
| 138 | Tanzania |
| 139 | Egypt |
| 140 | DR Congo |
| 141 | Lebanon |
| 142 | Yemen |
| 143 | Botswana |
| 144 | Zimbabwe |
| 145 | Malawi |
| 146 | Sierra Leone |
| 147 | Afghanistan |
Israel’s the country that surprises me the most as being among the happiest and Ukraine being well out of the 10 unhappiest is also a surprise to me. How about you?
Eliezer Weinstein says
I’m a Jewish American that’s currently in Israel. I was meant to fly home for the Passover holiday but due to the war with Iran I am unable to fly out of Israel and will be spending Passover away from my family for the first time. This was incredibly sad for me and I’m very disappointed. And yet I am still happy. Jews live for a purpose, we live to serve God. And if you realize He controls everything and cares about you it’s very hard to not be happy. Furthermore, I am away from my immediate family, but all Jews are my family, and all of us feel that. And that’s why Israel is one of the happiest countries
Patrick Mahaffey says
It’s very sad that Israelis are so happy, since they are the cause of Gaza and Lebanon being among the UNhappiest places in the world! Is that how they serve their god?!