Canada ranks among 25 happiest countries

Canada has been ranked 25th out of 147 countries in the 2026 World Happiness Report, which evaluates global well-being by country.

This year, Canada placed two spots below the US and ranked between Poland, in 24th place, and Taiwan, in 26th.

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The annual report was published on March 19, in partnership with Gallup, the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Canada’s standing in the World Happiness Report

Canada is one of only five countries in North America that placed within the top 25 happiest countries in the world.

Although Canada has continued to place relatively high in the report, its 2026 ranking marks a significant decline from its 18th-place ranking in 2025.

Canada received a life evaluation score of 6.741, ranking ahead of countries such as the United Kingdom (29th), France (35th), Italy (38th), and Spain (41st).

According to the report, this downward trend is not limited to Canada. Similar patterns were observed in countries such as the United States, Australia, and New Zealand—driven in part by how young people under 25 years of age assess their overall well-being.

Here’s a look at how Canada ranked over the last several years, showcasing how the country’s rank has shifted year by year in the past:

Happiest countries in the world

This year’s World Happiness Report saw Mexico drop out of the top 10 happiest countries ranking; all other countries in the top 10 remained the same, with ranks having shifted.

Finland once again ranked first, with a life evaluation score of 7.764 out of 10. It is the ninth consecutive year the country has held the top spot.

Since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2013, Nordic countries have consistently dominated the rankings.

Costa Rica was a notable standout this year, placing fourth—the highest ranking ever achieved by a Latin American country.

The table below shows the top 10 happiest countries in 2026 and their life evaluation scores.

On the other hand, countries that received a ranking of 100 or lower included Cameroon (100th), Pakistan (104th), India (116th), Bangladesh (127th), and Sri Lanka (134th). Afghanistan ranked last at 147th.

Methodology

The rankings are based on residents living in each country, rather than on citizenship or place of birth. A total of 147 countries were considered.

To compile the list, researchers asked residents of each country to evaluate their lives using a scale called the Cantril Ladder, wherein respondents assess and rank their life on a scale of 0 to 10—with 0 representing “the worst possible life” and 10 “the best possible life.”

The rankings are based on the average of those responses between the years 2023 and 2025.

Each year, approximately 1,000 responses are gathered from each country, and weights are utilized to create representative national averages.

The report also analyzes several factors that are closely associated with life satisfaction, including:

• GDP per capita;
• Social support;
• Healthy life expectancy;
• Freedom to make life choices;
• Generosity; and
• Perceptions of corruption.

These indicators are used to help explain differences in life evaluations across countries, but they do not determine the rankings themselves.

This year’s report found a particularly sharp decline in self-reported well-being among people under age 25 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, a group referred to as the NANZ region.

The report also examines the possible role of social media in this trend, noting links between increased screen time and lower perceptions of overall well-being.

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