Finland Tops World Happiness Report for Ninth Year

Finland has been named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year in the 2026 World Happiness Report, released this week by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The annual report, timed to coincide with the International Day of Happiness on March 20, draws on survey data from more than 100,000 respondents across 140 countries and territories, who rated their current lives on a scale from 0, the worst possible, to 10, the best possible. Respondents in Finland gave an average score of 7.764.

The Nordic nations continued to dominate the rankings, with Iceland in second place, Denmark third, Sweden fifth and Norway sixth. Costa Rica marked a milestone by securing fourth place, its highest ever and the first time a Latin American country has entered the top five. Other top performers included the Netherlands in seventh, Israel eighth, Luxembourg ninth and Switzerland tenth. New Zealand ranked 11th, Mexico 12th and Ireland 13th. Among English-speaking countries, none placed in the top 10, with Australia at 15th, the United States at 23rd, Canada at 25th...