The United Arab Emirates ranked first in the Arab world and 21st globally in the World Happiness Report 2026 released on March 19, according to the Emirates News Agency. The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network assigned the UAE a score of 6.821, ahead of Saudi Arabia at 22nd, the United States at 23rd and the United Kingdom at 29th, based on Gallup World Poll life evaluations.
The World Happiness Report 2026 ranked Finland first for the ninth consecutive year with a score of 7.764, followed by Iceland in second and Denmark in third. Costa Rica took fourth place while Sweden ranked fifth, according to the official data table from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. The report evaluated 147 countries and found happiness improved in 79 while declining in 41, with notable drops among young people in the US, Canada and Australia.
According to the report, the UAE placed fourth globally in freedom to make life choices, eighth in GDP per capita with output near $70,000 and 19th in generosity. It ranked 30th in healthy life expectancy as part of the six variables that include social support and perceptions of corruption. These results enabled the UAE to lead all Arab nations in the overall life evaluation metric compiled from three-year Gallup averages.
The World Happiness Report 2026 data table shows Saudi Arabia in 22nd position with a score of 6.817, just behind the UAE. Kuwait followed at 40th, Bahrain at 55th and Oman at 58th among other Arab and Gulf states included in the survey. The tight clustering of top GCC performers reflects shared regional strengths in the measured wellbeing factors.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network has issued the World Happiness Report each year since 2012, partnering with Gallup for the underlying polls and the University of Oxford for analysis in the 2026 edition. A gap exceeding six points separated Finland from last-placed Afghanistan, the publication reported. Longitudinal data in the report appendices illustrate evolving patterns across regions including the Middle East and North Africa.
The UAE government’s official platform has noted that senior citizens report the highest life satisfaction within the country, a detail that aligns with certain demographic findings in the World Happiness Report series. The nation has held the top Arab spot across several prior editions of the survey. This sustained performance draws on the key variables tracked through ongoing Gallup World Poll collections.
