Icelanders Second Happiest Nation

Icelanders Second Happiest Nation

Published March 19, 2026

Photo by
Art Bicnick

The Icelandic people are the second happiest nation, according to the latest World Happiness Report.

The report is published for the 14th time.

For the ninth year, Finns are recorded as being the happiest of all nations. 

Danes measure at third place, with Costa Rica following in fourth. Never before has a Latin American nation reached this high in the Happiness ranking.

Swedes and Norwegians claim fifth and sixth place respectively.

In a CNN interview, former economics professor John F. Helliwell, one of the report’s founders, noted the Nordic’s high happiness rankings can be attributed to strong health and education infrastructure, which provide safety and structure.

Happiness among young people has decreased considerably in recent years, John claimed. The biggest culprit is the scope and nature of social media.

This is the second year in a row where no Anglophone country ranks among the top ten on the happiness index.

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