Except for Israel, countries at war across the world ranked low in the just-released 2026 World Happiness Index: Ukraine, Russia, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, and Syria. The Jewish state, however, was once again ranked eighth among 147 countries. It’s an impressive result not only in international terms, but also in the Israeli context: at a time when the public is living under emotional strain, uncertainty, and ongoing exhaustion from ballistic missile and drone attacks, the constant need to run to protected spaces, sleeplessness, the closing of schools, and working (if at all) via Zoom.
The most remarkable finding in this year’s report concerns young people. Israelis under the age of 25, most of whom are serving in the IDF or on reserve duty, are the happiest age group within Israeli society and rank third in the world. In other Western countries, by contrast, the picture is far weaker. In the US, for example, young people have fallen to 60th place. Israel’s other age groups also rank highly, in approximately 11th place overall.
According to Anat Fanti, a happiness-policy researcher and doctoral student at the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in Ramat Gan, these figures suggest that even under the strain of prolonged war, the deeper sources of Israeli resilience – family ties, community, faith, a sense of belonging, and strong social bonds – are helping large parts of society remain well above the global average.
The 268-page report was compiled this year (as in many years in the past) by John Helliwell of the University of British Columbia; Richard Layard of the London School of Economics and Political Science; Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University in New York; Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the University of Oxford; Lara Aknin of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and Shun Wang at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.
The World Happiness Report does not measure the “national mood,” nor the intensity of the emotional upheaval of recent weeks, months, or even years. It is based on overall life evaluation, which relies mostly on broader social and structural variables, including economic stability, life expectancy (a manifestation of the quality of healthcare services), social support, and charitable giving. In addition, the ranking is based on a three-year average, and the report itself makes clear that extreme events (and certainly war) may be only partially reflected in the data.
Israel’s high ranking does not contradict the emotional crisis
In other words, Israel’s high ranking does not contradict the emotional crisis; rather, it suggests that broad happiness indicators primarily reflect deeper layers of resilience within society, rather than the turmoil of the moment, Fanti explained.
Nevertheless, once emotional indicators and measures of public trust are taken into account, a more complicated picture emerges. Beneath Israel’s resilience lie stress, exhaustion, and a continuing erosion of public trust. Israel’s highest ranking occurred during the Bennett-Lapid government, she noted. Since then, it has declined, especially after October 7.
According to the data in the report, Israel has risen from 119th place before the war to 39th in the world on measures of worry, sadness, and anger. At the same time, public trust in state institutions continues to erode, as reflected in the perception of corruption indicator, where Israel has fallen to 107th place, Fanti pointed out.
Israel’s result this year doesn’t erase the psychological and social cost of the war,” she noted. “On the contrary, it highlights the gap between the resilience of Israeli society and the difficult emotional reality of daily life. The fact that Israel is still ranked eighth in the world – and that young Israelis in particular are ranked third – points to the strengths of Israel’s population in comparison to other countries. At the same time, the rise in worry, sadness, and anger, together with the erosion of public trust, makes clear that resilience is not immunity.”
Israel is a small country, with respect for and closeness with family and continuity, the BIU researcher added. According to the social survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Israeli Arabs, who are also family-oriented, also scored high on the happiness meter, although slightly lower than the Jewish population. IDF service and the high level of medical services and medical personnel provided by universal health insurance promote longevity and result in high happiness scores.
Ultra-Orthodox and modern Orthodox Jews, who are the happiest, are also family-oriented, Fanti emphasized. “Satisfaction with life is an evaluative measure and thus more stable, while emotional states are more transient; therefore, they don’t negate the high satisfaction with life that is a broader, more general measure.”
The top 10 happiest countries were led by Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. “Costa Rica was the first Latin American country to be in the Top 10, but it will be too ambitious for me to explain why. I’m an expert in Israeli happiness; yet it probably has to do with close social bonds, as in the Israeli case,” Fanti said.
The United Arab Emirates is the happiest country in the Arab world, keeping its place on the 21st spot globally and ahead of countries such as the United States, which was 23rd, with Canada coming in at 25th and the United Kingdom at 29th. And although Finland is very afraid of war with Russia, largely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Sweden has seen a major rise in crime, they still ranked high. Australia was ranked 15th and Germany 17th. Happiness among young people in the US, Canada, and the UK appeared to be very low.
The lowest-ranking countries were Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, and Yemen. Russia was ranked 79th, Ukraine 111th, and Iran 97th. “It reflects the idea that people living in mature democracies are usually happier.”
Asked to speculate what Israel’s ranking will be in 2027, when the three years of war are included in the calculation, Fanti thought it “might decline, but by very little. And it depends on the happiness scores of the other countries as well. It’s a moving target. Some go up, and some go down.”
Most governments don’t set their policies to raise their Happiness Index ranking, Fanti said. “It isn’t a top priority for them. But representatives of countries are increasingly interested, according to what I hear on the ground.”
“In an election year,” Fanti added, “this report also carries a clear public and political message. If Israel wishes to preserve its place at the top of the World Happiness Index, it cannot rely solely on ‘natural’ civic resilience. What is needed is an active policy aimed at rebuilding public trust, strengthening social and mental health services, and reinforcing the sources of cohesion that enable Israeli society to endure even under difficult conditions. The 2026 report shows that Israeli society is still very strong, but it also reminds us that resilience cannot last forever.”