Mauritius has retained its position as Africa’s happiest country in the 2026 World Happiness Report, with the latest rankings showing little movement across the continent and underscoring a persistent wellbeing gap.
Released on March 20 to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness, the World Happiness Report 2026 ranks more than 140 countries using indicators such as income, social support, life expectancy, freedom and perceptions of corruption. Africa’s results confirm a stable but largely stagnant hierarchy, reinforcing trends highlighted in Africa Briefing’s 2025 rankings analysis.
Top rankings show limited movement
Africa’s happiness rankings in 2026 closely mirror last year’s results, reinforcing a pattern of continuity rather than rapid progress.
The top-ranked African countries are:
- Mauritius
- Libya
- Algeria
- South Africa
- Mozambique
- Gabon
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Congo (Brazzaville)
- Guinea
- Namibia
Mauritius continues to lead on the back of relatively strong institutions, social stability and higher income levels. Notably, none of the African countries rank among the global top tier, underscoring the scale of the continent’s wellbeing gap.
A stable top tier, but limited upward mobility
The persistence of the same countries at the top reflects advantages that are difficult to replicate quickly.
North African countries, particularly Libya and Algeria, continue to dominate the upper tier, supported by higher life expectancy, stronger healthcare systems and broader state capacity.
Southern African economies such as South Africa and Namibia also remain among the top performers, benefiting from relatively developed infrastructure and market access, despite ongoing inequality challenges.
However, few new entrants have broken into this group, highlighting limited upward mobility across Africa’s happiness rankings.
Despite the relative stability at the top, Africa remains the lowest-ranked region globally in terms of average happiness scores.
Average scores across much of the continent remain below 5 out of 10, compared with over 7 in top-ranked countries, highlighting a significant global disparity in perceived wellbeing
