Greece holds one of the most powerful passports in the world, but a new global ranking suggests that travel freedom alone does not make a nation happy.
The Happy Passports Index 2026, published by investment migration consultancy Global Citizen Solutions, ranks Greece 36th out of 50 countries, despite the Greek passport scoring 96.8 out of 100 for mobility, one of the highest marks in the study.
What the index measures
Rather than simply counting visa-free destinations, the index weighs four equally important pillars:
- Wellbeing, based on life satisfaction scores from the World Happiness Report 2026
- Freedom at home, combining Gallup’s freedom-of-choice data with the V-Dem civil liberties index
- Mobility, the strength of a country’s passport and the quality of the destinations it opens
- Prosperity, health and safety, covering income per person, healthy life expectancy and peace
Each country receives an overall score out of 100.
Where Greece falls short
Greece’s overall score of 62.9 is held back by its wellbeing result. The country ranks 43rd for life evaluation, and its score of 5.697 is the lowest of any EU member state.
It also scores a modest 52.1 for freedom at home and 68.9 for prosperity, health and safety.
The report places Greece in a group it calls “Mobile but Not as Happy”: countries whose citizens can travel almost anywhere but report lower life satisfaction than their income levels would predict.
Cyprus ranks higher
Cyprus performs better, placing 25th with a score of 71.3. Like Greece, it has a strong passport, scoring 93.3 for mobility, but a weaker wellbeing result of 47.5.
Turkey sits near the bottom of the table in 48th place with 30.4, scoring just 14.3 for freedom at home.
Nordic nations dominate
Finland tops the ranking with 93.2, followed by Iceland (92.4) and Denmark (92.1). Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Austria and Singapore complete the top ten.
Australia, home to one of the largest Greek diaspora communities, places 12th with 82.2, ahead of Canada (15th) and the United Kingdom (17th). The United States ranks 28th, held back by low scores for peace and freedom of choice.
Greece, Cyprus, Australia and Turkey compared
| Country | Rank | Overall | Wellbeing | Freedom at home | Mobility | Prosperity, health & safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 12 | 82.2 | 72.8 | 86.5 | 92.4 | 77.0 |
| Cyprus | 25 | 71.3 | 47.5 | 73.3 | 93.3 | 71.3 |
| Greece | 36 | 62.9 | 33.7 | 52.1 | 96.8 | 68.9 |
| Turkey | 48 | 30.4 | 21.0 | 14.3 | 40.0 | 46.3 |
Greece has the strongest passport of the three, but trails Cyprus and Australia on every other measure, most sharply on wellbeing.
Top 10 happiest passports 2026
- Finland – 93.2
- Iceland – 92.4
- Denmark – 92.1
- Norway – 89.3
- Switzerland – 88.3
- Sweden – 88.2
- Netherlands – 86.2
- New Zealand – 84.4
- Austria – 83.8
- Singapore – 82.8
The full index covers 50 countries across six regions.
Source: Global Citizen Solutions