World Happiness Report
- How often
- Each new editionOnce a year
- Last released
- 19 Mar 20262026
2026, up from 118 of 147 in 2025.
Events on this chart
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup and UN SDSN, released 19 Mar 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 118 of 1472025
- Highest
- 136 of 1462022
- Lowest
- 116 of 1472026
5 readings since 2022.
Story
India's rank on people's own rating of their lives.
What is happening now As of 2026
The World Happiness Report 2026 ranks India 116th of 147 countries. On average over the three years to 2025, Indians rated their lives at 4.536 on the 0–10 ladder, up from 4.389 and 118th place in the 2025 report. India's average rating has risen in every edition since 2022, when it was 3.777 and India ranked 136th.
Of the six factors the report uses to explain scores, income per person and freedom to make life choices account for the largest parts of India's score. Healthy life expectancy, generosity and freedom from corruption account for the smallest. The 2026 report's main theme is happiness and social media.
Why it matters
Most measures of progress count money, goods and services. The World Happiness Report asks people to rate their own lives, so it shows whether growth, health, jobs and public services add up to lives that people themselves value.
The first report was presented at a United Nations meeting that followed General Assembly resolution 65/309, which urged governments to give more importance to happiness and well-being. The report's six explaining factors (income per person, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption) suggest which conditions matter most for how people feel about their lives.
What it is
The World Happiness Report ranks countries by how people rate their own lives. In the Gallup World Poll, about 1,000 people in each country each year place their life on a ladder from 0 (worst possible life) to 10 (best possible life). This question is called the Cantril ladder.
A country's score is the average answer over three years; the 2025 report used 2022 to 2024. The report then uses six factors to explain why scores differ: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption. These factors explain the ranking but are not part of the score.
The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford publishes the report with Gallup, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and an independent editorial board. It is released around 20 March, the International Day of Happiness. A lower rank number is better.
Read this number
Terms on this page (2)
- GDP
- Gross Domestic Product
- SDSN
- Sustainable Development Solutions Network
History
- 2012The first World Happiness Report is presented on 2 April 2012 at a United Nations high-level meeting on wellbeing and happiness. The meeting followed General Assembly resolution 65/309, sponsored by Bhutan, which urged governments to give more importance to happiness and well-being.
- 2013The report introduces the equation it uses to explain differences between countries.
- 2025The 2025 report ranks 147 countries on answers from 2022 to 2024.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 116 of 147 | Final | 19 Mar 2026 |
| 2025 | 118 of 147 | Final | 1 Mar 2025 |
| 2024 | 126 of 143 | Final | 1 Mar 2024 |
| 2023 | 126 of 137 | Final | 1 Mar 2023 |
| 2022 | 136 of 146 | Final | 1 Mar 2022 |
For UPSC
Publisher: the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford, with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). The ranking rests on the Cantril ladder (0–10) in the Gallup World Poll; the six factors only explain it. It is released around 20 March, the International Day of Happiness.