Nigeria Drops to 106th in 2026 World Happiness Ranking

Nigeria has ranked 106th in the 2026 World Happiness Report, marking a continued decline from 105th position in 2025 and 102nd in 2024.

The report, released on Thursday, assessed 147 countries as part of activities marking the International Day of Happiness, celebrated annually on March 20.

The global ranking placed Mauritius as the happiest country in Africa at 73rd position worldwide. It was followed on the continent by Libya, Algeria, and Mozambique among the top performers. Other African countries in the top 10 include Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, South Africa, Niger and Tunisia, which ranked 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. Nordic countries continued to dominate the top rankings, with Costa Rica emerging as the only non-European country in the top five.

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

Based on data from the Gallup World Poll, the rankings measure how people evaluate their lives on a scale of zero to 10. The results reflect three-year averages and consider factors such as GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.