Countries With the Lowest Life Satisfaction

Every country with a figure for life satisfaction, ranked from lowest to highest. The top three are Afghanistan (1.45), South Sudan (2.82) and Sierra Leone (3.25). The middle country of the 165 has 5.83.

What this measures

Life satisfaction (Cantril ladder score), in score (0-10). Source: Gallup / World Happiness Report. For this measure, higher is better.

The national average answer to the "Cantril ladder" question: "Please imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top...". It is a direct survey measure, not a combined index. The six factors the World Happiness Report uses to explain the ladder are not part of it. Values are usually three-year rolling averages of the Gallup World Poll. So each year's value overlaps with the next, and they are not separate readings.

This measure mostly follows how rich a country is, so this ranking is close to a ranking by national income. Each country’s page also ranks it against countries with similar incomes, which is often the fairer comparison.

The full ranking

Each country’s latest figure, from 2011–2025. The year beside each value says when it was measured.

More on life satisfaction

• Countries With the Highest Life Satisfaction
• Life satisfaction by country: trend over time and what it goes with

Related rankings

• Countries With the Lowest Interpersonal Trust
• Countries With the Lowest Self-reported Happiness
• Countries With the Lowest Wellbeing Scores

A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.