(CC0/PD) Angelo_Giordano / pixabay
A park in Helsinki, Finland
Portugal drops 9 steps in the World Happiness Report. In the first places we only found Nordics…except Costa Rica.
A Finland and the happiest country in the world. We have been reading this news since 2018, year after year, without any interruption.
Once again, the World Happiness Report, this one for 2026, places the northern European country as the country where people are happiest.
The table is prepared by Gallup, Oxford Wellbeing Research Center and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. It involves 140 countries and its inhabitants make the assessment: GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity or corruption are some of the main factors.
In Finland there is continuous work, a society that works: “Trust between people and institutions, accessible public services, balance between work and personal life, equal opportunities and a close relationship with nature are part of this process”, analyzes Laura Lindeman, director at Work in Finland at Business Finland, cited in .
Businesses are grateful for this scenario: there is stability, professional qualifications, consistent companies and people involved, committed to what they do.
The top six places are (almost) all occupied by northern European countries. In this order: Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
But, in the middle, the only country that “departs” from this Nordic dominance appears: Costa Rica.
This rise to 4th place makes Costa Rica the first Central American country to appear in the top-5 of this table. Some factors are highlighted: strong social cohesion, deep family ties, high level of social capital and high sense of freedom of choice (the latter is common in the top five).
Completing the top-10 are, in this order: Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Almost all of them are European countries, therefore.
Portugal fell again. Two years ago he was in 55th place, now he is in 69th place. It fell nine places compared to last year. Reasons: perception of corruption, lack of generosity and little social support.
