♦ India ranked 116th with a life evaluation score of 4.536 in the World Happiness Report 2026 published on 19 March 2026. India improved its ranking from 126th in 2024 to 118th in 2025. 

♦ Finland is again ranked as the happiest country in the world, in a survey covering 147 nations. This is the ninth consecutive year that Finland has placed first in the World Happiness Report. The rankings are based on the population's average assessment of their own quality of life.

♦ Afghanistan is yet again ranked as the unhappiest country in the world, this year again 147th, same as for 2025.

♦ While Nepal with 99th rank (92 in 2025, 93 in 2024) and Pakistan with 104th rank (109 in 2025, 108 in 2024) remained much ahead of India. Sri Lanka ranked 134th (134 in 2025, 128 in 2024) and Bangladesh 127th (127 in 2025, 129 in 2024).

♦ China was ranked in 65th position this year, down from 68th last year and 60th in 2024; Russia is at 79th (66 in 2025, 72 in 2024), while the USA was at 23rd position this year (24 in 2025, 23 in 2024).

♦ The list is compiled by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Gallup organisation. The report measures satisfaction using life evaluations collected through the Gallup World Poll.

Top 10 happiest countries in the world