World Happiness Report 2026
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Every year, the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre works together with groups including the United Nations to make the World Happiness Report.
Writings from Aristotle, who lived over 2,000 years ago in Greece, have been very important in helping people think about what happiness is. Teachers and thinkers have taken Aristotle's view of happiness to mean living a good life, with people being able to succeed to their full potential. And, says the BBC, it's this idea that the team behind the World Happiness Report use to rank the happiness levels of different countries.
Researchers asked people in 140 countries to rate their own lives on a number of parameters and score them on a scale of zero to 10. The data comes primarily from the Gallup World Poll, with researchers also analyzing factors like social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. For the second year in a row, no major English-speaking countries made the top 10, with Australia at 15th, the United States at 23rd, Canada at 25th and the UK at 29th.
Once again, Finland sits at No. 1. Finns reported an average life evaluation score of 7.764 out of 10, well ahead of most other countries. Frank Martela - an associate professor at Aalto University, as well as a philosopher and researcher who studies the science of happiness -says the country’s approach is intentional. “Happiness is taken seriously in Finland, where well-being is a core focus of policy and everyday life.”
Finland is followed by a familiar group of Nordic countries: Iceland (No. 2) and Denmark (No. 3). Sweden (No. 5) and Norway (No. 6) also continue their strong showing. The continued dominance of Nordic countries isn’t new: This year’s top 10 list is similar to previous rankings, reports Forbes. But the 2026 report suggests their success goes beyond the usual explanations of wealth or welfare systems. Social trust, strong institutions and a sense of community all play a role in how people evaluate their lives. “When it comes to happiness, building what is good in life is more important than finding and fixing what is bad,” John F. Helliwell, a founding editor of the report, said in a statement. “Both need doing, now more than ever.”
Costa Rica is one of the standout performers this year, rising to No. 4 - its highest-ever ranking and a notable moment for Latin America. The country has been on a steady climb. It was No. 23 in 2022, No. 12 in 2024 and No. 6 in 2025. Meanwhile, Switzerland re-enters the top 10 at No. 10 after dropping out last year. Elsewhere, continued gains from countries such as Kosovo (No. 16), Slovenia (No. 18) and Czechia (No. 20) point to a broader convergence in happiness levels between Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe.
The Top 20 Happiest Countries In the World:
Finland
Iceland
Denmark
Costa Rica
Sweden
Norway
Netherlands
Israel
Luxembourg
Switzerland
New Zealand
Mexico
Ireland
Belgium
Australia
Kosovo
Germany
Slovenia
Austria
Czechia