South Korea's Happiness Ranking Hits Record Low 67th

South Koreans' subjective happiness ranking has fallen to an all-time low of 67th place. According to the '2026 World Happiness Report,' this represents a decline of 9 spots from the previous year and is the lowest ranking since the report's inception in 2012. In the report published by the U.S. research firm Gallup, South Korea received a score of 6.040 out of 10, placing it 67th among 147 countries. This marks a decrease of 9 positions from last year's 58th rank. South Korea's ranking has shown a downward trend, moving from 52nd and 58th to its current 67th position, raising concerns about the general satisfaction levels of its citizens.

Happiness scores are calculated based on six key factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption. While South Korea scored relatively high in GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy, it received comparatively lower evaluations in social support and perception of corruption.

Meanwhile, Finland secured the top spot as the 'happiest country' for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Iceland (2nd), Denmark (3rd), and Sweden (5th). Among Asian countries ranked higher than South Korea is Taiwan (26th), while Japan (61st) and China (65th) marginally outperformed South Korea.