The World Happiness Report 2026, compiled using Gallup World Poll data and published by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, has once again highlighted which countries report the highest life satisfaction. Nordic nations dominate the top spots, with Finland holding the No. 1 position for the ninth year in a row, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden. Costa Rica continues to shine as the highest-ranked Latin American nation.
The report measures happiness using the Cantril ladder, where respondents rate their lives from 0 (worst possible) to 10 (best possible), and also analyzes six key drivers: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
Greece’s Position in 2026
Greece has fallen to 85th place globally in 2026, with an average life evaluation of roughly 5.7. This represents a continued decline from 81st in 2025, reflecting broader economic and social challenges even as average scores remain relatively stable. For comparison, countries like Venezuela now rank slightly higher than Greece, and the United States sits around 23rd. Over the last decade, Greece’s ranking has dropped steadily, even as its life evaluation scores hovered between 5.6 and 5.7, showing that relative global progress matters as much as domestic trends.
Social Media and Psychological Well‑Being
The 2026 report also examines Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) and its impact on life satisfaction. Greece, along with countries such as Hungary, Latvia, and Estonia, is among the countries where PSMU strongly correlates with psychological complaints, with coefficients around 0.18–0.21, meaning that heavy social media use is linked to roughly one-fifth of a standard deviation increase in psychological distress.
By contrast, countries like Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Norway show weaker associations, though the trend remains positive globally.
