Bulgaria Falls Behind in Global Happiness Index, Lowest Among EU Nations

Bulgaria has maintained its position at 85th place out of 147 countries in the latest World Happiness Report, making it the lowest-ranked European Union member in the index. Despite this, the country has shown a gradual improvement in its overall life evaluation, which now stands at 5.554 points—an increase of 1.573 points since the first edition of the report in 2012. The ranking places Bulgaria alongside Venezuela, Indonesia, and Algeria, with North Macedonia, Armenia, Hong Kong, and Albania following closely behind.

The World Happiness Report is published annually around March 20, recognized as World Happiness Day. This year’s edition, prepared by Oxford University in collaboration with Gallup International, highlights mutual assistance as a key focus. The rankings are based on a combination of social and economic indicators, including GDP per capita, inequality, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption. The data is collected through surveys of approximately 1,000 people per country.

For yet another year, Finland remains at the top with an overall life evaluation score of 7.736, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Costa Rica ranks sixth, breaking the usual dominance of Northern European nations. Norway follows in seventh place, with Israel in eighth, despite the ongoing war. Luxembourg and Mexico round out the top ten.

At the lower end of the ranking, Afghanistan sits in last place with a life assessment score of 1.364, followed by Sierra Leone at 2.998. These figures reflect average values from the past three years and indicate a significant decline in both countries. Other countries near the bottom include Libya, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

Bulgaria's ranking, though still low within the EU, is part of a broader trend of improvement seen in other Balkan countries. Serbia and Romania, for example, have also made notable progress over the years. However, this upward trajectory has not yet been enough to lift Bulgaria from the lowest position among EU nations.