Not UK, France or Switzerland – world's richest country in 2026 named

Countries like the UK, France and Switzerland are often seen as among the richest in the world because of their large economies and high wages. But a new study says another European nation is actually the world’s richest country in 2026, once quality of life and income equality are taken into account.

According to the HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026, Norway is now ranked as the richest country in the world with an overall prosperity score of 77.65 out of 100. The study looked at far more than just GDP figures when ranking countries.

Instead, researchers combined GDP and gross national income with factors such as poverty rates, income equality and the Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, education and income levels.

According to HelloSafe, this gives a clearer picture of how wealth actually affects people’s day-to-day lives.

Ireland ranked second in the study with a score of 75.06, while Luxembourg came third with 74.39. Switzerland and Iceland completed the top five.

The UK did not make the global top 20 and received a prosperity score of 38.05, which HelloSafe described as “low to intermediate prosperity”.

The company said this meant that while the UK had strong economic development, inequality and poverty still remained widespread.

HelloSafe also pointed out that GDP figures alone can sometimes give a misleading picture of wealth.

Ireland was used as an example. The country has a GDP per capita of $150,865 (£117,730) in purchasing power parity terms, largely due to the presence of major multinational companies such as Apple, Google and Pfizer.

However, HelloSafe said a large share of that wealth does not directly belong to households.

Norway scored highest partly because of its strong social model, high gross national income and lower levels of inequality compared to many other wealthy countries.

The country’s enormous oil wealth has also played a big role.

Huge oil reserves were discovered in Norway’s North Sea waters in 1969, but instead of spending the profits immediately, the country invested much of the money into a sovereign wealth fund.

Today, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, often called the Oil Fund, is worth around $2.2 trillion (£1.64 billion).

The fund invests in companies, bonds and property around the world and reportedly owns around 1.5% of all listed global stocks.

Norway also heavily taxes oil companies and places strict limits on how much money can be spent each year from the fund.

Away from oil and gas, the country also has strong industries in seafood, maritime shipping, hydropower and green technology.

High levels of education, low corruption and strong public services were also mentioned as major reasons for Norway’s prosperity.

HelloSafe said the rankings show that being the world’s richest country is “not just about income or GDP, but about how wealth translates into quality of life, social cohesion and long-term development”.

1. Norway
2. Ireland
3. Luxembourg
4. Switzerland
5. Iceland
6. Singapore
7. Denmark
8. Netherlands
9. Belgium
10. Sweden
11. Qatar
12. Germany
13. United Arab Emirates
14. Finland
15. Australia
16. Austria
17. United States
18. Canada
19. Czech Republic
20. France