Lebanon Ranks As Middle East’s Unhappiest Country, UN Report Reveals
Lebanon has emerged as the unhappiest country in the Middle East region, according to a new report on global wellbeing.
The UN World Happiness Report 2024, which ranks the happiest countries in the world, ranked Afghanistan as the unhappiest country, followed by Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, and Congo (Kinshasa).
Lebanon, in 142nd place, has maintained its low ranking on the index for the second consecutive year. Once known for its vibrant culture and thriving middle class, the country now grapples with financial ruin and instability.
“Some of the worst-faring countries, especially Lebanon and Afghanistan saw their life evaluations halved from their base values.”
The report, published annually by the UN since 2012, provides a global snapshot of life satisfaction. The report analyses people’s own assessments of their happiness along with economic and social data to rank countries on overall wellbeing. Six key factors are weighed, including social support, income, health levels, freedom, generosity, and lack of corruption.
This year’s report reveals some striking shifts in happiness over the past decade. Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Jordan showed the steepest declines in wellbeing metrics since the 2006-2010 period. In contrast, countries including Serbia, Bulgaria, and Latvia registered the biggest gains. The Nordic nations continue to top the rankings, with Finland outpacing regional neighbours Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.
For the first time in 10 years, perennial leaders Germany and the US failed to make the top 20 happiest countries list, falling to 23rd and 24th place respectively.
Here’s a list of the world’s top 20 happiest countries.
Top 20 happiest countries in the world
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Costa Rica
- Kuwait
- Austria
- Canada
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Czechia
- Lithuania
- United Kingdom
The report is a partnership of Gallup, Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board.
