What are the 10 richest countries in Europe?

Norway, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg. All ten score above 92 out of 100 and rank in the world top 12.

Where do Germany, the United Kingdom and France rank?

Germany is 13th in Europe (90.4 out of 100), the United Kingdom 16th (89.2) and France 17th (88.2); Italy is 22nd (85.2) and Spain 23rd (84.4). All five have high GDP and human development, but less even incomes than the Nordic and Benelux countries.

Why is Luxembourg not first?

Luxembourg has the second-highest GDP per head in Europe after Ireland, but GDP counts for 30 % of the score. Its income equality (71.6) and poverty (89.4) scores are below the Nordic countries', which places it 10th with 92.8 out of 100.

Which European countries score lowest?

North Macedonia (68.8), Ukraine (70.0), Bosnia and Herzegovina (70.1), Moldova (70.4) and Turkey (70.8) have the lowest scores in Europe. Even so, every European country ranks in the world top 72, and Europe's average (84.5) is the highest of any continent.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index2026 edition · 41 European countries · 5 indicators

The richest countries in Europe in 2026

The 41 European countries scored out of 100 on the world Prosperity Index scale, from public data: GDP, national income, human development, income equality and poverty.

Europe top 3 · 2026score /100

90–10080–9070–80under 70

Last updated: October 15, 2026100 % public, traceable data

Key facts to remember

The index in 30 seconds

41European countries ranked, on the world index scale

84.5Europe's average score /100, the highest of any continent

99.4Norway, the richest country in Europe

4regions: Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern Europe

Key takeaways · 20-second read

Norway (99.4), Ireland (97.7) and Iceland (97.3) are the three richest countries in Europe, and the three richest in the world.
Western Europe has the highest regional average (92.6), just ahead of Northern Europe (91.3); Southern (79.4) and Eastern Europe (79.3) are level.
Slovenia (12th) and Czechia (14th) lead their regions, ahead of the United Kingdom (16th) and France (17th), thanks to some of the most even incomes in the world.
Luxembourg has the second-highest GDP per head in Europe but ranks 10th, held back by income equality and poverty.
Same scores as the world ranking: every European country sits in the world top 72.

How is the index built? See the methodology ↓

01 · Europe ranking

2026 Europe ranking

All 41 European countries ranked on the same 0–100 score as the world ranking of the richest countries, with their place among the 178 countries of the world index. Click a country for its five indicator scores.

Search a country…

#1 in Europe · #1 in Northern Europe · #1 worldwide

Norway

99.4/10090–100

Norway scores 99.4/100, #1 in Europe, #1 in Northern Europe and #1 worldwide. Its strongest pillar is GDP per capita (PPP) (100.0), its weakest Income equality (96.5).

Pillar breakdown

GDP per capita (PPP) 30 %100.0

National income per capita 20 %100.0

Human development 20 %100.0

Income equality 15 %96.5

Low poverty 15 %99.7

Pillar scores on 100, weighted into the overall 99.4.

Insurance for Norway →

02 · Where the wealth is

The geography of prosperity in Europe

Every European country in its tier colour. Click a tier to show or hide it, click a country for its rank and score.

Showing 41 of 41 published countries · click a country for its info

Why are some places grey? Micro-states under 100,000 inhabitants (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican) and Kosovo are not scored. Every other European country is on the map. What this study does not show ↓

03 · Regional rankings

Richest countries by region of Europe

Europe's four regions, as defined by the UN, each ranked on its own: every country with its rank in its region, in Europe and worldwide. Western Europe leads on average (92.6), ahead of Northern Europe (91.3), Southern Europe (79.4) and Eastern Europe (79.3). Cyprus and Turkey are counted in Southern Europe.

Northern Europe · average 91.3 · 10 countries scored, 10 published

Richest countries in Northern Europe

1Norway99.4#1
2Ireland97.7#2
3Iceland97.3#3
4Denmark95.7#5
5Finland93.2#8
6Sweden93.1#9
7United Kingdom89.2#16
8Estonia85.2#21
9Lithuania81.9#26
10Latvia80.1#29

Reader service: in Europe's richest countries, a doctor's visit or a night in hospital can cost far more than at home, and the European Health Insurance Card only covers public care, at local rates. Compare policies by medical limit with our travel insurance comparison.

Reading the results

What separates Europe's richest countries

Human development is where Europe scores best: 88.0 out of 100 on average, and 11 countries reach 95 or more. Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany score a full 100.

Even incomes lift Central Europe: Slovenia, Slovakia and Belarus score 100 on income equality and Czechia 99.3. That is why Slovenia (91.0) and Czechia (90.3) rank above the United Kingdom (89.2) and France (88.2), with a lower GDP per head.

Germany, the United Kingdom and France sit in the middle of the top 20: 13th, 16th and 17th. Their GDP and human development are high, but income equality (71.3 to 77.9) holds them back, as it does Italy (22nd) and Spain (23rd).

Luxembourg and Ireland, the two highest GDPs per head: both are inflated by multinational profits and cross-border workers. Ireland stays 2nd; Luxembourg drops to 10th on income equality (71.6) and poverty (89.4).

Turkey has the widest income gap in Europe: 36.2 on income equality (Gini index 43.7), the lowest of the 41 countries, which places it 37th at 70.8 despite a GDP per head close to Greece's.

04 · How we score

Methodology

Built by HelloSafe's travel insurance team, independently of our comparison. The scores are those of the world Prosperity Index: a country carries the same score, on the same scale, on both pages. Every figure comes from a public international dataset, so the ranking can be reproduced from the sources.

Score /100= weighted sum30 %GDP per capita (PPP)20 %National income per capita20 %Human development15 %Income equality15 %Low poverty

SourcesIMF World Economic Outlook (GDP per capita in PPP, 2026 estimates), World Bank WDI (GNI per capita, Atlas method), UNDP Human Development Report 2025 (HDI), World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (Gini index, share below the societal poverty line). Regions: UN geoscheme (M49).

ProcessingIncomes on a log scale, as the UNDP does for the HDI. Min-max 0–100 over the 178 countries of the world index, Gini and poverty inverted, outliers winsorised.

RobustnessRank correlation of 0.99 with equal weights across the 41 European countries; Norway stays first.

Formula Prosperity Index = 0.30 × GDP + 0.20 × National income + 0.20 × Human development + 0.15 × Income equality + 0.15 × Low poverty

What this study does not show

Micro-states under 100,000 inhabitants are excluded (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican), as is Kosovo (no UNDP data).
Cyprus and Turkey are counted in Europe, as on the world page; the UN geoscheme places them in Western Asia.
Inequality surveys are not yearly: the latest Gini and poverty figures date from different years depending on the country.
Ireland's and Luxembourg's GDP is inflated by multinational profits and cross-border workers; national income and the HDI weigh 40 % to correct it.
Relative, not absolute: a score compares countries with each other. Prices, cost of living and wealth within a country are not measured.
Data window: latest release of each source at publication (October 2026).

New in 2026First Europe edition41 countries, 4 regionsSame scale as the world indexNorway #1

Questions on the method? Contact us →

05 · For journalists

Visuals you can publish

This is exactly what your readers will see: the live block, with its credit link. Free to reproduce; a PNG version is included for CMSs that strip iframes.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026

The richest countries in Europe90–10080–9070–80under 70Source: HelloSafe, The richest countries in Europe in 2026

Map of Europe · live embed, PNG version includedDownload PNG

“Norway is the richest country in Europe with 99.4 out of 100 on the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, ahead of Ireland (97.7) and Iceland (97.3), which also hold the top three places in the world.”

“Slovenia and Czechia rank above the United Kingdom and France in the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, thanks to some of the most even incomes in the world.”

“Luxembourg has the second-highest GDP per head in Europe but ranks only 10th in the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, held back by income equality and poverty.”

Quotes by Antoine Fruchard, travel insurance expert and author of the index · Contact us

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Norway tops the Europe ranking of the 2026 HelloSafe Prosperity Index with 99.4 out of 100, ahead of Ireland (97.7) and Iceland (97.3). It is also first of the 178 countries of the world index, with a full 100 on GDP, national income and human development.

Index updatesThe 2027 ranking is on its way. Be the first to see it.New scores, new countries, the dataset and the press kit, in your inbox on publication day.

Once a year, plus corrections. Privacy policy

And for your next tripCompare the best travel insurances in 2 clicks.Compare prices

🆘 24/7 Assistance💳 Advance of medical expenses🏥 Up to $2.2M in medical expenses❌ Premium cancellation

On the same topic

Cheapest Countries to Visit in 2026

The cost of a week in 100 countries, with their safety. Nepal is the cheapest ($334), Malaysia the best value. Method and open data.