Ukraine is at the bottom again: in the World Happiness ranking the country ranked 111th
Happiness the Finnish way and reality the Ukrainian way: the new global ranking revealed a painful gap
In the new report World Happiness Report 2026, which published on the eve of the International Day of Happiness, Finland has again been recognized as the happiest country in the world. For it this is already the ninth consecutive first place. Ukraine did not improve its position this year and, as last year, took the 111th place among 147 countries.
The top ten of the ranking, in addition to Finland, included Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg and Switzerland. It was Switzerland this time that displaced Mexico from the top 10; Mexico had closed the top ten in the previous report. The lowest position was again held by Afghanistan.
The Ukraine indicator in this year’s report is 4.658 points out of 10 possible. This means the country, for the second year in a row, remains in the second half of the table, with no upward movement. Against the backdrop of the full-scale war, the constant threat, losses, anxiety and societal exhaustion, such a result is hardly surprising, but it once again reminds us: it is not enough for the state to talk about resilience when millions of people live in chronic stress.
The authors of the study paid special attention to young people. In most developed regions of the world, young people now rate the quality of their lives higher than in the 2005-2010 years; however, intensive use of social networks is associated with an increased risk of lower life satisfaction. Researchers particularly note that this is not simply about being present online, but about excessive immersion in platforms that promote constant social comparison.
The World Happiness Report itself is prepared in collaboration with the analytics company Gallup, the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report assesses how people in different countries perceive the quality of their own lives and also analyzes the broader context of wellbeing as a guide for public policy.
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