Heavy social media use is linked to a sharp decline in well-being among young people, especially teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday.
The annual report from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford found Finland to be the happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, with other Nordic nations — Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway — also placing in the top 10.
The report flagged a significant fall in life evaluations among under-25s in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand over the past decade and identified long hours spent on social media as a key factor. Respondents under 25 in English-speaking and Western European countries saw their average life-satisfaction score drop by nearly one point over ten years.
Costa Rica entered the top five this year, rising to fourth place from 23rd in 2023. The authors attributed Costa Rica’s climb to strong family bonds and social connections. “We think it’s because of the quality of their social lives and the stability that they currently enjoy,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and co-editor of the report, noting Latin America’s high social capital.
Finland and other Northern European countries retained high ranks thanks to a combination of wealth, relatively equal distribution of resources, welfare systems that buffer against economic shocks, and healthy life expectancy. Nations in or near major conflict zones remained at the bottom of the list, with Afghanistan again ranked the least happy country, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi.
Rankings were based on responses from about 100,000 people across 140 countries and territories, gathered in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. In most countries roughly 1,000 people are surveyed each year by phone or face-to-face, rating their lives on a 0-to-10 scale.
The report highlights that extensive social media use is especially harmful for teenage girls. For example, 15-year-old girls who spend five hours or more daily on social media report lower life satisfaction than peers who use it less. Young people who use social media less than one hour per day report the highest well-being—higher even than those who do not use social media at all—yet adolescents average about 2.5 hours a day on these platforms.
Researchers pointed to algorithm-driven feeds, influencer-driven content and visually focused platforms as most problematic because they promote social comparisons. Platforms that primarily facilitate direct communication were associated with better well-being outcomes. The report also noted regional differences: in some areas, such as parts of the Middle East and South America, heavy social media use has not been linked with falling youth well-being, suggesting multiple contextual factors influence the relationship.
This year marks the second consecutive absence of any English-speaking country from the top 10. The United States ranked 23rd, Canada 25th and the United Kingdom 29th. The report’s findings on social media come amid increasing moves by countries to ban or restrict minors’ access to social platforms.
