Finland is the permanent leader of the rating of the happiest countries since 2018 // Photo: finlandtoday.fi.
This is evidenced by data from the World Well-Being Report, released by the by the Well-Being Research Center based on statistics and surveys by the Gallup analytical company among residents of 147 countries.
80% of TOP-10 are in Europe
Among the countries in the top 10, only two are not located in Europe – Costa Rica (4th place) and Israel (8th). Switzerland rounds out the top ten, with Germany in 17th position, the US in 23rd, the UK in 29th, France in 35th, Italy in 38th and Spain in 41st.
Four African countries – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe – are the least happy. The last, 147th place is occupied by Afghanistan.
Below Romania, but above Russia and Ukraine
Moldova ranked 77th, positioned between Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivia. Romania is on the 34th place, Russia – on the 79th, Ukraine – on the 111th. Over the year, Moldova moved up by three positions, Romania – by one, Russia lost 13 positions, and Ukraine’s position in the ranking remained unchanged.
How is the level of happiness assessed?
When compiling the rating, six key indicators are taken into account – GDP per capita, level of social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life decisions, generosity and perception of corruption.
The publication of the report is traditionally timed to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated on March 20.
| TOP-10 happiest countries in the world
(as of 19.03.2026) |
||
| № | Country | Change for the year* |
| 1 | Finland | —– |
| 2 | Iceland | +1 |
| 3 | Denmark | -1 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | +2 |
| 5 | Sweden | -1 |
| 6 | Norway | +1 |
| 7 | Netherlands | -2 |
| 8 | Israel | —– |
| 9 | Luxembourg | —– |
| 10 | Switzerland | +3 |
| 34 | Romania | +1 |
| 76 | Trinidad and Tobago | -6 |
| 77 | MOLDOVA | +3 |
| 78 | Bolivia | -4 |
| 79 | Russia | -13 |
| 111 | Ukraine | —– |
| 141 | Lebanon | +4 |
| 142 | Yemen | -2 |
| 143 | Botswana | -1 |
| 144 | Zimbabwe | -1 |
| 145 | Malawi | -1 |
| 146 | Sierra Leone | —– |
| 147 | Afghanistan | —– |
| * According to the World Well-Being Report released by Oxford University (UK) | ||
