Albanians are among the unhappiest people in the world, ranking at number 90 out of 146 nations in the annual World Happiness Report published in 18 March.
The yearly ranking assesses nations populations on GDP, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption, amongst others.
Albania scored 5.199 points out of a possible 10 which represents the maximum happiness. It came below Russia, Libya, and the dictatorial state of Turkmenistan. It was also beaten by regional neighbours such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
The happiest county in the world was Finland with a score of almost eight, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Last was Afghanistan with 2.04, then Lebanon, Zimbabwe and Rawanda.
Serbians are also much happier than Albanians with a score of 6.178 ranking at 43. Kosovo citizens were very happy, with a score of 6.455 ranking at number 32 alongside EU member states Italy, Spain and Malta.
The things that made Albanians happy included societal generosity, the freedom to make life choices, and a healthy life expectancy. Reasons for unhappiness included the GDP per capita, social support, and their perception of corruption.
Despite the disappointing result, Albanians do appear to be a bit happier than they were last year. In 2021, Albania ranked at number 92 with a score of 5.117 showing a marginal improvement in the last 12 months.
