KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan has once again been ranked the world’s least happy country in the World Happiness Report 2026, ranking 147th out of 147 countries surveyed with a life evaluation score of 1.45 on a 0–10 scale.
The report, released by Gallup on the International Day of Happiness on Friday, shows Afghanistan has moved in the opposite direction since 2013, with an overall drop of nearly 2.7 points. The country’s average life evaluation now stands at 1.45, slightly above last year’s record-low score.
Afghan citizens reported the lowest levels of positive emotions and were among those with the highest levels of negative emotions. Afghan women recorded the lowest average life satisfaction globally, at 1.26 out of 10, with the report noting that conditions remain particularly difficult for women.
Other countries ranked among the five least happy after Afghanistan include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Sierra Leone. No country other than Afghanistan scored below three points, with Sierra Leone, at 3.2, ranking as the second least happy nation.
At the top of the rankings, Finland retained its position as the world’s happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica. Northern European nations continue to dominate the top ten, with Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland also featuring among the ten happiest nations.
Afghanistan’s neighbors, Pakistan and Iran, ranked 104th and 97th, respectively, both in the lower half amid ongoing economic and social challenges. Across Asia, Taiwan led at 26th, ahead of Japan (61st) and China (65th).
The World Happiness Report is produced in collaboration with the Gallup Institute, Oxford Health Studies Center, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the report’s editorial board. Rankings are based on self-reported life evaluations, measured by factors including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
