Youth under 25 in wealthy Western and NANZ countries, including the United States (US), Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have experienced notable declines in life satisfaction over the past two decades, while youth in transitional Eastern European countries have seen significant gains.

This is according to the World Happiness Report 2026, produced by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network with Gallup. Life satisfaction is measured using the Cantril Ladder (0 to 10), where 0 represents the worst possible life and 10 represents the best. Data come from the Gallup World Poll and the 2022 PISA survey of 15-year-olds.

Youth under 25 are compared with adults 25 and older over two periods, 2006–2010 and 2023–2025, showing long-term generational trends.

In Eastern Europe, youth life evaluations rose sharply: Serbia (+1.42), Bulgaria (+1.33), Georgia (+1.30), Latvia (+1.25), Bosnia & Herzegovina (+1.18). Gains reflect stronger education, social cohesion, and economic opportunity.

By contrast, in the Western/NANZ countries (US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), youth life satisfaction declined. Life evaluations fell by 0.960 in the US, 1.138 in Canada, 0.718 in Australia, and 0.623 in New Zealand. Despite high material wealth, younger generations face stagnating home ownership, delayed family formation, and limited economic mobility.

Rising Eastern European youth happiness and declining Western/NANZ youth show that relative prosperity alone does not ensure wellbeing.