World view · wellbeing
World Happiness Report
विश्व खुशी सूचकाङ्क
Nepal · 2026
5.31 / 10
Rank 99 of 147
Trajectory · 2013–2026
World Happiness Report
UN SDSN / Gallup World Poll
Linear extrapolation of the last 5-year trend — illustrative only, not a forecast.
Solid — measured history
Dashed — if current trend continues
Green dotted — reform scenario (1.5× current pace)
Honest caveat: projections are linear extrapolation of the last 5 observed years. Real-world indices change non-linearly with policy shocks, elections, and external events. This tool answers "where would this go if nothing changes?" — it is not a forecast. For real change, see the "what would move this" panel below.
Why Nepal is here
Nepal remains South Asia's highest-ranked country on the World Happiness Report, ahead of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — despite lower incomes than several of them. Our global rank slipped from 92 (2025) to 99 (2026) as countries above us improved. Social support and cultural-religious connection score well; freedom-to-make-life-choices and corruption-perception drag the total down.
The short version
When asked "how happy is your life out of 10?", Nepalis say 5.3 — higher than people in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. We are 99th in the world (down from 92nd last year). Family, friends and festivals make us happier than money does.
Inside the score
The headline number breaks down into these sub-scores — these are the levers.
GDP per capita (log)
38/100
Weakest input — income $1,372 per capita, far below S. Asian peers
Social support
72/100
Strong family and community ties — biggest single contributor to score
Healthy life expectancy
54/100
63.7 healthy years at birth — held back by NCDs and air quality
Freedom to make life choices
65/100
Above S. Asian average; political-stability anxiety drags it
Generosity
71/100
Reported charitable giving and helping strangers very high — daanam culture
Perception of corruption
28/100
Worst factor — 81% of Nepalis think corruption is widespread in government and business
SAARC scoreboard
How Nepal compares to its neighbours on this index, latest year.
What would actually move this
Three concrete actions — each tied to where a comparable country actually moved on this metric.
- 1
Jobs at home — outmigration of working-age men breaks families; happiness gain from physical reunion is the biggest single lever.
- 2
Mental-health services in district hospitals (currently almost none outside Kathmandu).
- 3
Public-space quality — clean rivers, parks, traffic-free old quarters — lift daily mood.
Countries that moved — and how
Real reform episodes from countries roughly our size or context. Each shows that significant movement is possible within a decade.
Finland 🇫🇮
Stable top-5 (2013 → 2025)
High trust in institutions, generous social safety net, near-zero corruption perception. Income matters less than fairness.
Costa Rica 🇨🇷
Rank 12 → 6 (2013 → 2025)
No army since 1948 (defence budget → education + health), universal healthcare, "pura vida" social fabric.
Lithuania 🇱🇹
Rank 50 → 19 (2017 → 2025)
Mental-health system overhaul post-pandemic, post-Soviet civic trust slowly rebuilt, EU accession gains compounded.
Source · cited verbatim
UN SDSN / Gallup World Poll — World Happiness Report, 2026
Open the publisher's releaseAll values on this page are taken directly from this source. Year and confidence level is shown on each card. If you find a discrepancy with the publisher's current dataset, please report it.