World Happiness Report 2026 Reports on the Dangers of Social Media to Younger People. The report was released on March 18, 2026 and then ranked the countries on the basis of life satisfaction statistics obtained in the Gallup World Poll.
The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, which is in collaboration with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes the World Happiness Report annually.
It measures subjective well-being on a scale of self-reported life satisfaction on approximately 100,000 respondents in 147 countries. This issue is devoted to the impact of social media on well-being, especially its adverse influence on the youth.
Top Happiness Rankings
Finland is the number one country on the list with nine consecutive years of success, which is attributed to high levels of social support, low levels of corruption, and high levels of trust.
It is dominated by Nordic countries, with Iceland (2nd ), Denmark (3 rd ), Sweden (5 th ), Norway (6 th ) coming above Costa Rica (4 th ), Netherlands (7 th ), Israel (8 th ), Luxembourg (9 th ), and Switzerland (10 th ). Afghanistan comes in last followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi, which are almost at the bottom.
Rank
Country
Region
Key Strengths
1
Finland
Northern Europe
Welfare state, trust
2
Iceland
Northern Europe
Community bonds
3
Denmark
Northern Europe
Work-life balance
4
Costa Rica
Latin America
Highest Latin American rank
5
Sweden
Northern Europe
Equitable living standards
What is India’s Position in the World Happiness Report?
India has moved up a notch, by 116th in 147 out of 147 with a life evaluation score of 4.536. Some challenges are the lack of social support, health, and life satisfaction amid economic growth. China (65th) and Russia (79th) are the BRICS countries that are ranked higher.
Social Media Concerns
High levels of social media consumption are associated with reduced life satisfaction amongst young people in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe.
Those adolescents who spend more than five hours per day on the platform (girls in particular), the less well-being is reported; less than one hour is associated with greater satisfaction.
This is a worrying trend to mental health policies and the digital regulations.
Key Happiness Factors
The ranking is based on six variables, which are GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom of choice, generosity, and low corruption perceptions.
The success of Nordics is based on strong welfare, equality and trust. The report encourages moderate digital practices in order to maintain the global well-being trends.
First Published: Mar 20, 2026, 19:07 IST
