Nigeria ranks 106th in 2026 world happiness ranking

Nigeria ranks 106th in the 2026 World Happiness Report, a steady decline from 105 in 2025 and 102 in 2024.

The report released on Thursday, March 19, 2026, showed the happiness ranking of 147 countries as the world observes the International Day of Happiness.

The World Happiness Report is released annually as part of the celebration of the day.

The International Day of Happiness, celebrated on March 20, was established by the UN General Assembly on June 28, 2012, to make people around the world realise the importance of happiness in their lives.

Mauritius ranks as the 73th happiest country in the world, and stands at number one in Africa, with Libya, Algeria, and Mozambique following respectively among the 10 happiest countries in the continent.

Other countries that made the top10 in Africa include Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, South Africa, Niger, and Tunisia, which stands at 105 in the global ranking.

Globally, Finland retained its position as the world’s happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica.

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The top 10 in the world is dominated by Nordic nations, with Costa Rica, a country outside Europe, breaking into the top five for the first time.

The annual report is published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

The report, based on data from the Gallup World Poll, measures how people evaluate their lives on a scale from zero to 10.

Rankings reflect three-year averages and consider factors such as GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

The Star