Nigeria Drops To 106 In 2026 World Happiness Ranking

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

The report, unveiled on Thursday, showed the happiness rankings of 147 nations as the world observes the International Day of Happiness.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Happiness Report is released annually as part of the day’s celebration.

The day, celebrated on March 20, was established by the UN General Assembly on June 28, 2012 to raise awareness of the importance of happiness in people’s lives.

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

Other countries that made the top 10 in Africa include Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, South Africa, Niger and Tunisia, which ranks 105th globally.

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

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.