Countries by Chronic Pain

Complete ranking of 38 countries • Percentage of population aged 15 years or over • Updated 2026

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Iceland leads all 38 countries in Chronic Pain with a value of 41% of adults 15+, while Poland ranks last at 14% of adults 15+. This represents a 3-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Chronic Pain Measures

Share of adults reporting chronic pain, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Chronic Pain across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 14% of adults 15+ (Poland) to 41% of adults 15+ (Iceland) — a 3-fold difference across 38 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 12 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 26% of adults 15+ to 33% of adults 15+. The overall spread from 14% of adults 15+ to 41% of adults 15+ reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Iceland and Portugal are separated by only 5%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Iceland

41% of adults 15+

North America

Costa Rica

37.5% of adults 15+

South America

Chile

37% of adults 15+

Oceania

Australia

32.5% of adults 15+

Asia

South Korea

28.5% of adults 15+

Highest Chronic Pain

The 5 strongest Chronic Pain reads.

Iceland41% of adults 15+Portugal39% of adults 15+Costa Rica37.5% of adults 15+Chile37% of adults 15+Canada35% of adults 15+

Lowest Chronic Pain

The 5 lowest Chronic Pain reads.

Poland14% of adults 15+Japan20% of adults 15+Israel20.5% of adults 15+Turkey22.5% of adults 15+Estonia23% of adults 15+

Data Note

Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 38 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

1stIceland41% of adults 15+

2ndPortugal39% of adults 15+

3rdCosta Rica37.5% of adults 15+

4thChile37% of adults 15+

5thCanada35% of adults 15+

6thFrance34.5% of adults 15+

7thGreece34.5% of adults 15+

8thSpain34% of adults 15+

9thUnited States33.5% of adults 15+

10thColombia33% of adults 15+

Country Ladder

1stIcelandEurope41% of adults 15+2ndPortugalEurope39% of adults 15+3rdCosta RicaNorth America37.5% of adults 15+4thChileSouth America37% of adults 15+5thCanadaNorth America35% of adults 15+6thFranceEurope34.5% of adults 15+7thGreeceEurope34.5% of adults 15+8thSpainEurope34% of adults 15+9thUnited StatesNorth America33.5% of adults 15+10thColombiaNorth America33% of adults 15+11thAustraliaOceania32.5% of adults 15+12thItalyEurope32% of adults 15+13thBelgiumEurope31.5% of adults 15+14thCzechiaEurope31.5% of adults 15+15thNew ZealandOceania31% of adults 15+16thDenmarkEurope30% of adults 15+17thLatviaEurope29.5% of adults 15+18thAustriaEurope28.5% of adults 15+19thHungaryEurope28.5% of adults 15+20thSouth KoreaAsia28.5% of adults 15+21stMexicoNorth America28.5% of adults 15+22ndSwitzerlandEurope28% of adults 15+23rdLuxembourgEurope28% of adults 15+24thGermanyEurope27.5% of adults 15+25thIrelandEurope27.5% of adults 15+26thUnited KingdomEurope27% of adults 15+27thNorwayEurope27% of adults 15+28thSlovakiaEurope27% of adults 15+29thNetherlandsEurope26% of adults 15+30thSloveniaEurope25% of adults 15+31stSwedenEurope24.5% of adults 15+32ndFinlandEurope24% of adults 15+33rdLithuaniaEurope24% of adults 15+34thEstoniaEurope23% of adults 15+35thTurkeyEurope22.5% of adults 15+36thIsraelAsia20.5% of adults 15+37thJapanAsia20% of adults 15+38thPolandEurope14% of adults 15+

Chronic Pain ranking for 38 countries
				Percentile
1st	Iceland	41% of adults 15+	Europe	100%
2nd	Portugal	39% of adults 15+	Europe	97%
3rd	Costa Rica	37.5% of adults 15+	North America	95%
4th	Chile	37% of adults 15+	South America	92%
5th	Canada	35% of adults 15+	North America	89%
6th	France	34.5% of adults 15+	Europe	87%
7th	Greece	34.5% of adults 15+	Europe	84%
8th	Spain	34% of adults 15+	Europe	82%
9th	United States	33.5% of adults 15+	North America	79%
10th	Colombia	33% of adults 15+	North America	76%
11th	Australia	32.5% of adults 15+	Oceania	74%
12th	Italy	32% of adults 15+	Europe	71%
13th	Belgium	31.5% of adults 15+	Europe	68%
14th	Czechia	31.5% of adults 15+	Europe	66%
15th	New Zealand	31% of adults 15+	Oceania	63%
16th	Denmark	30% of adults 15+	Europe	61%
17th	Latvia	29.5% of adults 15+	Europe	58%
18th	Austria	28.5% of adults 15+	Europe	55%
19th	Hungary	28.5% of adults 15+	Europe	53%
20th	South Korea	28.5% of adults 15+	Asia	50%
21st	Mexico	28.5% of adults 15+	North America	47%
22nd	Switzerland	28% of adults 15+	Europe	45%
23rd	Luxembourg	28% of adults 15+	Europe	42%
24th	Germany	27.5% of adults 15+	Europe	39%
25th	Ireland	27.5% of adults 15+	Europe	37%
26th	United Kingdom	27% of adults 15+	Europe	34%
27th	Norway	27% of adults 15+	Europe	32%
28th	Slovakia	27% of adults 15+	Europe	29%
29th	Netherlands	26% of adults 15+	Europe	26%
30th	Slovenia	25% of adults 15+	Europe	24%
31st	Sweden	24.5% of adults 15+	Europe	21%
32nd	Finland	24% of adults 15+	Europe	18%
33rd	Lithuania	24% of adults 15+	Europe	16%
34th	Estonia	23% of adults 15+	Europe	13%
35th	Turkey	22.5% of adults 15+	Europe	11%
36th	Israel	20.5% of adults 15+	Asia	8%
37th	Japan	20% of adults 15+	Asia	5%
38th	Poland	14% of adults 15+	Europe	3%

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