Jamaica and Belize are reportedly the happiest countries in the Caribbean!  My two countries, ok!

So I’m not just making this up. According to the 2026 World Happiness Report, Belize was ranked as the 27th happiest country out of 147.  Jamaica was ranked at number 49, jumping 24 places from 73 last year.

This year’s ranking puts Jamaica ahead of the Dominican Republic at 64th, and Trinidad and Tobago at 76th. Other big regional players, Barbados and Guyana, were not in the report.

Now, one important thing to note is that the 2026 report is based on average life evaluations from 2023 to 2025. So it’s not just about how people felt in one single year. It is based on a broader snapshot of how people rated their lives over time. Interestingly, this includes years with Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa.

The ranking itself is based on how people answer one main question about their lives, basically rating life from the worst possible to the best possible.

The six key areas are income or GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

For Jamaica, social support was our strongest area, 24th globally.  For healthy life expectancy, we ranked 76th; for income we ranked 84th; and perceptions of corruption was our weakest area at 88.

So what does all of this mean? Well, the report gives a good look at how everyday Jamaicans feel about their lives.  Socially, we’re doing good. Crime rate is down by a lot, and unemployment is at a record low, so more people are working.

But it also shows where improvement is still needed, especially in areas like trust in institutions and broader economic conditions. And health as well.  At 84th, it’s clear Jamaicans don’t feel like they can live a long, healthy life.

Overall though, it does say a lot about the progress we’ve made as a country in the last few years.

And that’s the bottom line.