The 25 happiest countries in the world for 2026 revealed

A survey has found the 25 happiest countries in the world.

Happiness can be a difficult thing to measure, not least because any two people's idea of happiness might be a world apart.

But this report takes a good look at levels of happiness in each country to come up with an idea of how each country ranks.

It's all part of the 2026 World Happiness Report, and has been released for the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, and let's face it we could probably all do with a bit more happiness at the moment.

This ranks more than 140 countries around the globe to determine which is the happiest.

Most of the data comes from the Gallup World Poll, and once again one particular group of countries has dominated the top spots, with one notable exception this year.

John F. Helliwell is a founding editor of the report, and said: "When it comes to happiness, building what is good in life is more important than finding and fixing what is bad.

“Both need doing, now more than ever.”

Finland took the top spot (Miemo Penttinen - miemo.net/Getty)

What are the top five happiest countries?

Well right up in the top spot is Finland, which has returned to first place again.

Frank Martela is a philosopher who looks at the science behind happiness, and think this is no accident.

“Happiness is taken seriously in Finland, where well-being is a core focus of policy and everyday life," he said.

Other nordic countries also dominated the top three, with Iceland being in second place, and Denmark in third, with Denmark previously having been in the top spot.

But while Nordic countries dominated the top five, with Sweden coming in fifth place to mean they made up four out of the top five, there was another continent represented.

This was in Costa Rica, which came in fourth place after climbing consistently.

Costa Rica was the only non-nordic country in the top five (Atlantide Phototravel/Getty)

How are the happiest countries calculated?

The report puts over 140 countries into a rank based on the way that people living in those countries

Using data from the Gallup World Poll, the ranking analyzes several factors in each country to try and build up a picture.

These include things like healthy life expectancy, generosity, freedom, perception of corruption, and social support.

Full list of the 25 happiest countries in the world

1. Finland
2. Iceland
3. Denmark
4. Costa Rica
5. Sweden
6. Norway
7. Netherlands
8. Israel
9. Luxembourg
10. Switzerland
11. New Zealand
12. Mexico
13. Ireland
14. Belgium
15. Australia
16. Kosovo
17. Germany
18. Slovenia
19. Austria
20. Czechia
21. United Arab Emirates
22. Saudi Arabia
23. United States
24. Poland
25. Canada