Portugal may be one of the safest countries in the world; one with the most sunshine, most delicious food and best beaches, but… it certainly isn’t the one where its people are happiest. In fact, they are not very happy at all.
The 2026 World Happiness Report has pegged this country so far down the list as to be positively sad.
Only two years ago, Portugal was in 55th position (already, a far from a stellar result). It then slipped to 60th place in 2025 – and now it is even ‘less happy’ in 69th position, not even as happy as Colombia (where citizens are suffering “deep humanitarian crisis”).
What has gone wrong?
According to the data, citizens here cite a very negative perception of corruption and, surprisingly, of ‘generosity’. For these negative perceptions, Portuguese levels of happiness take the country into 124th and 108th places, respectively, on the overall happiness listing.
There is some solace: when it comes to the hope of a healthy life, Portugal ranks 22nd in the world – and it comes in 27th place for nationals’ perception of freedom.
The 20 countries in the world where people are considered ‘happiest’ are:
- 1.º – Finland
- 2.º – Iceland
- 3.º – Denmark
- 4.º – Costa Rica
- 5.º – Sweden
- 6.º – Norway
- 7.º – Netherlands
- 8.º – Israel
- 9.º – Luxembourg
- 10.º – Switzerland
- 11.º – Nova Zealand
- 12.º – Mexico
- 13.º – Ireland
- 14.º – Belgium
- 15.º – Australia
- 16.º – Kosovo
- 17.º – Germany
- 18.º – Slovenia
- 19.º – Austria
- 20.º – Czechia
SIC explains that the World Happiness Report is compiled through a ‘global inquiry of citizens in 140 countries, with the objective of understanding how they evaluate their lives, on a scale of 0-10.
Other factors taken into account are income per head, life expectancy, social support, freedom and levels of perception of corruption.
Source: SIC Notícias
