List of
the happiest countries in the world: Finland first and Afghanistan last
According to the World Happiness Report 2026, Finland has once again been named the happiest country in the world, maintaining its lead. This time, the ranking not only shows the dominance of the Nordic countries, but also some unexpected results, which have presented the concept of happiness on a global scale from a new angle.
According to the report, Costa Rica has come in fourth place, while Mexico has also surpassed several rich countries.
The results show that happiness is not only related to income, but also to social trust, community and quality of daily life.
The report also presents a map comparing happiness levels in countries around the world.
Finland is in first place with a score of 7.8 out of 10, reflecting its long-standing dominance.
On the other hand, Costa Rica and Mexico are also ahead of high-income countries such as Ireland, Australia and Germany on the list. This shows that factors such as social relationships, community and lifestyle also play an important role in happiness, which cannot be measured by GDP alone.
The ranking is made using the Central Leader, in which people evaluate their own lives on a scale of 0 to 10. The report includes data from 147 countries and more than 100,000 people, while using average scores from 2023 to 2025 to obtain more accurate results and reduce sampling error.
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and several Western European countries have fallen into the narrow range of 6.7 to 6.9, indicating that the level of happiness in these countries has reached a plateau. On the other hand, Eastern European countries such as Poland and Estonia are steadily improving, indicating an improving standard of living and social conditions.
In Asia, Taiwan is the happiest country in the region at 26th place, while Japan is at 61st and China is at 65th place. Mauritius is at the top in Africa, where factors such as relatively low corruption and high life expectancy play an important role.
In the subcontinent, Pakistan is at 104th place with a happiness score of 4.9, while India is at 116th place with a score of 4.5.
Afghanistan is at 147th and last place on the Happiness Index list, with a score of 1.4.
On the other hand, according to a report by the Associated Press, there has been a significant decline in happiness levels among young people, especially due to excessive use of social media. According to this report by the Wellbeing Research Center at Oxford University, its effects are more worrying for young girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe.
The report found that life satisfaction levels among people under 25 in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have declined significantly over the past decade, largely due to increased time spent on social media. Costa Rica rose to fourth place this year, up from 23rd in 2023. The report attributed the improvement to family ties and strong social connections.
According to Oxford economist and co-editor of the report, Jean-Emmanuel de Neuve, Latin America has strong family and social ties, which provide more social capital than other regions. The report also said that the continued success of Finland and other northern European countries is due to the more equitable distribution of wealth, a strong welfare state and better health expectations.
According to the report, conflict-affected countries continue to be at the bottom of the list, with Afghanistan once again the unhappiest country, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi. The ranking was based on responses from 100,000 people in nearly 140 countries and territories, who rated their lives on a scale of 0 to 10. The research was conducted in collaboration with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Interestingly, despite the use of social media, youth happiness did not decline in the Middle East and South America, which is attributed to various social and cultural factors. According to the report, 2026 is the second consecutive year that no English-speaking country has been able to make it into the top 10, with the United States in 23rd place, Canada in 25th place and the United Kingdom in 29th place.
The report comes at a time when several countries around the world are considering or banning social media for minors, which shows the seriousness of the problem.
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