Calgary 
Canada has slipped noticeably in this year’s global happiness rankings, landing at 25th place, down from 18th last year, according to the World Happiness Report from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
Credit: World Happiness Report 2026
Canada was 15th in the 2024 report and 13th in 2023.
Per the report, the drop isn’t happening in isolation. Across North America and Western Europe, people report feeling less happy than they did 15 years ago. The report links part of that shift to the rise of social media, especially among younger users. Researchers Jonathan Haidt and Zachary Rausch point to risks ranging from exposure to violent content and pornography to cyberbullying, deepfakes, and harmful online challenges.
At the top of the rankings, familiar patterns remain. Finland holds onto first place, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s fourth-place finish is notable, the highest ever for a Latin American country. Sweden and Norway round out the top six.
Notably, Israel is the eighth-happiest place, retaining the same position as last year.
Credit: World Happiness Report 2026
The United States, at 23, has gone up one position from last year, and the United Kingdom (29th) has dropped to its lowest position to date.
Globally, the picture is mixed. Of the 136 countries ranked, 79 saw significant gains in happiness, while 41 saw declines. Many of the biggest improvements are in Central and Eastern Europe, while sharper drops tend to cluster near conflict zones.
Younger people tell a more concerning story closer to home. In the NANZ region (the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), under-25s rank between 122 and 133, placing them near the bottom globally. It’s also one of the few regions where youth wellbeing has declined.
At the other end of the list, Afghanistan ranks last, followed by Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Yemen.
World Happiness Ranking (Top 25)
- Finland
- Iceland
- Denmark
- Costa Rica
- Sweden
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- Ireland
- Belgium
- Australia
- Kosovo
- Germany
- Slovenia
- Austria
- Czechia
- United Arab Emirates
- Saudi Arabia
- United States
- Poland
- Canada
The World Happiness Report highlights the state of happiness worldwide. It is based on life evaluations based on six factors from the Gallup World Poll, which asks individuals to rate their own current lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best possible life and zero being the worst.
The six variables the report uses to explain the variation in happiness across countries are GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. However, the happiness rankings are not based on any index of these factors but are instead based on individuals’ assessments of their lives from 2023 to 2025.
