Editorial: An unhappy Republic – Read

India’s poor standing in World Happiness Report 2026 reflects the ongoing challenges despite being one of the world’s fastest-growing economies

Indians are among the unhappiest lot in the world. Life is a struggle for most people in the country. They navigate challenging conditions on a daily basis: corruption and dishonesty in every walk of life, weak social support systems, poor healthcare and low life expectancy. According to the World Happiness Report 2026, India has ranked 116th among 140 countries. It was no surprise that Finland has been ranked as the world’s happiest country for a ninth consecutive year and that the Nordic nations continue to dominate the top rankings. This dominance is attributed to wealth, equality, strong welfare systems and high life expectancy. Afghanistan remained the lowest-ranked country in the world, along with Sierra Leone and Malawi. India’s poor standing reflects the ongoing challenges despite being one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Widening income inequalities, rising unemployment, and poor access to healthcare and education play a significant role in determining the happiness levels of any society. While urban areas in India are witnessing rapid development, rural regions still face issues related to infrastructure and basic services. Additionally, rising stress levels, work pressure, and social disparities contribute to lower overall life satisfaction. Some experts, however, contend that the country’s cultural diversity, family values, and strong community networks remain positive contributors to general happiness, even if they are not fully reflected in the rankings. The World Happiness Report, compiled by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations, is based on surveys of around one lakh people across 140 countries.

India has managed an average score of 4.536 out of ten as it got below 1 on four of the six indicators — social support, healthy life expectancy, generosity, and perception of corruption. Significantly, the report noted that heavy social media use is making people, particularly those below the age of 25 years, very unhappy. The impact of digital addiction among teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe is particularly worrying. It has emerged that life satisfaction among the youth in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand has fallen sharply over the past decade. The findings come in the backdrop of plans by some countries to impose restrictions on social media use by minors. The researchers say the extensive social media use is associated with lower well-being, with algorithm-driven, image-focused platforms and influencer content cited as key factors. One of the big surprises in the report is that, for the first time in the report’s 14-year history, a Latin American country made its way into the top five as Costa Rica continued its multi-year rise to fourth place, jumping from 23rd in 2023. The rankings are based on a three-year average of how residents across several countries rate their own lives alongside factors such as GDP, social support, life expectancy, perceived freedom, generosity and corruption.