The 2026 World Happiness Report, compiled by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, ranked South Africa 101st out of 147 countries, placing it in the bottom half of global rankings.
A country’s well-being ranking is based on individuals’ self-assessments and does not include external factors such as GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy, which are used only to explain differences in global life evaluations.
South Africa’s confidence interval is 95-104, which means there is a 95% chance that the true happiness ranking of South Africa is within the specified range of 95-104.
The report mainly examines the global decline in youth wellbeing, specifically within English-speaking nations and Western Europe, as well as the rising levels of negative emotions.
A significant portion of the report examines the relationship between social media use and levels of happiness, indicating that extensive use of social media and specific platform designs are associated with lower life satisfaction.
The researchers point out significant regional differences in youth happiness. While happiness levels have decreased sharply in North America and Western Europe, they remain higher in many other regions of the world.
In the World Happiness Report for 2026, South Africa is ranked 101st globally based on life evaluations from an average of survey responses collected over three years, from 2023 to 2025.
The life evaluation score, measured using the Cantril Ladder, assesses how people perceive the overall quality of their lives. For South Africa, the score is 5.009.
This tool asks survey respondents to envision a ladder where the best possible life for them is ranked as a 10, and the worst possible life is ranked as a zero.
Respondents then provide a numerical rating to indicate where they currently feel they stand on that scale.
Although South Africa scores relatively low on the happiness chart, it is higher than most of its immediate neighbouring countries, except for Mozambique, which ranked 93rd, with a life evaluation score of 5.336.
Below are the rankings and scores of South Africa’s neighbouring countries from highest to lowest life evaluation.
- Namibia: Rank 108, Score 4.781
- Lesotho: Rank 126, Score 4.375
- Eswatini: Rank 137, Score 3.909
- Botswana: Rank 143, Score 3.464
- Zimbabwe: Rank 144, Score 3.346
Social media and wellbeing
Data from 47 countries revealed that life satisfaction is generally highest among light social media users, those who spend less than an hour a day on these platforms.
As social media usage increases, life satisfaction drops significantly. Among girls worldwide, heavy users are much more likely to report low life satisfaction compared to light users.
The report revealed that in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, individuals who are heavy users, spending more than five hours online each day, are also significantly more likely to experience higher stress levels, depressive symptoms, and the belief that they are worse off than their parents.
The data also revealed greater variation in life satisfaction at the extremes: both non-users and heavy users of social media are more likely to report the absolute lowest (0–4) and the absolute highest (10) levels of life satisfaction than moderate users.
Evidence from Latin America showed a distinct contrast in how different types of platforms affect users.
Platforms primarily designed for social connections and private communication, such as WhatsApp and Facebook, are associated with higher life satisfaction, better life evaluations, and greater positive emotions.
In contrast, platforms that rely on algorithmically curated content and influencers, like Instagram, TikTok, and X, are linked to lower levels of happiness and are associated with increased negative emotions and mental health issues.
The findings emphasise the importance of careful policy-making and highlight the important role of social belonging and trust in supporting mental health.
