Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiJun 13, 2026 06:07 PM IST
Top 10 loneliest countries in the world: India has been ranked the second-loneliest country in the world in a global study released in June 2026. The report, published by digital entertainment platform JB.com, examined emotional well-being and social isolation across 36 countries. It found that despite strong family structures and larger households, many people in India continue to experience feelings of loneliness and emotional disconnection.
The study created a ‘loneliness score’ using several factors, including how often people feel lonely or isolated, levels of sadness and happiness, rates of depression, and household patterns such as the number of people living alone and average household size. Countries with higher overall scores were considered to be at greater risk of loneliness.
Turkey topped the ranking with a loneliness score of 100, while India came in second at 89. In India, 58 per cent of respondents said they feel lonely, and 34 per cent reported feeling isolated. The report also found that 37 per cent of Indians frequently experience sadness, the highest figure among the top five countries in the ranking, pointing to significant emotional challenges.
One of the study’s key findings was that loneliness in India exists even though most people live with family members. Only 3.7 per cent of households in the country consist of a single person, and the average household has more than four members. According to the report, this indicates that loneliness in India is driven more by emotional factors than by physical isolation, as people can still feel disconnected while living with others.
Turkey, which ranked first, recorded 61 per cent of people reporting loneliness and 45 per cent saying they feel isolated. Around 31 per cent of respondents in the country said they frequently experience sadness. Although one in five Turkish households is made up of a single person, the study suggests that emotional disconnection remains a major contributor to loneliness there as well.
Brazil secured the third position with a loneliness score of 78. The report found that 53 per cent of Brazilians feel lonely, while 43 per cent experience isolation. At the same time, Brazil showed relatively higher levels of life satisfaction among the top five countries, highlighting that people can feel lonely even when they generally consider themselves happy.
South Africa ranked fourth. While 65 per cent of respondents reported loneliness—the highest proportion among the top five countries—only 18 per cent said they feel isolated. The study noted that this gap suggests loneliness and social connectedness do not always move together.
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South Korea completed the top five list. The country’s ranking was influenced partly by the fact that 36.1 per cent of households consist of a single person, the highest share among all nations included in the study. In addition, 57 per cent of South Koreans reported feeling lonely.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Uzbekistan and the Netherlands were identified as the least lonely countries. Both nations recorded lower levels of isolation and stronger happiness scores. Canada and Thailand were also among the countries found to have comparatively lower levels of loneliness, according to the report.
