Countries by Financial Hardship
Complete ranking of 30 countries • Percentage of population aged 16 years or over • Updated 2026
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About Financial Hardship Rankings
Greece leads all 30 countries in Financial Hardship with a value of 66.7% of adults 16+, while United Kingdom ranks last at 7.20% of adults 16+. This represents a 9-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Financial Hardship Measures
Share of adults who report financial hardship, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Financial Hardship 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 7.20% of adults 16+ (United Kingdom) to 66.7% of adults 16+ (Greece) — a 9-fold difference across 30 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries dominate this ranking, holding 18 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 9.80% of adults 16+ to 21.8% of adults 16+. The overall spread from 7.20% of adults 16+ to 66.7% of adults 16+ reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
Greece stands far above the rest, with a value 54% higher than second-place Mexico. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.
Continental Leaders
Highest Financial Hardship
The 5 strongest Financial Hardship reads.
Lowest Financial Hardship
The 5 lowest Financial Hardship reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 30 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
Country Ladder
| Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Greece | 66.7% of adults 16+ | Europe | 100% |
| 2nd | Mexico | 43.4% of adults 16+ | North America | 97% |
| 3rd | Turkey | 32.2% of adults 16+ | Europe | 93% |
| 4th | Slovakia | 28.7% of adults 16+ | Europe | 90% |
| 5th | Latvia | 23.3% of adults 16+ | Europe | 87% |
| 6th | Spain | 21.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 83% |
| 7th | France | 21.8% of adults 16+ | Europe | 80% |
| 8th | Portugal | 21.8% of adults 16+ | Europe | 77% |
| 9th | Canada | 20.4% of adults 16+ | North America | 73% |
| 10th | Hungary | 19.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 70% |
| 11th | Italy | 18.7% of adults 16+ | Europe | 67% |
| 12th | Belgium | 17.1% of adults 16+ | Europe | 63% |
| 13th | Ireland | 16.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 60% |
| 14th | Czechia | 14.2% of adults 16+ | Europe | 57% |
| 15th | Slovenia | 13.6% of adults 16+ | Europe | 53% |
| 16th | Austria | 13.1% of adults 16+ | Europe | 50% |
| 17th | Denmark | 12.8% of adults 16+ | Europe | 47% |
| 18th | Poland | 11.5% of adults 16+ | Europe | 43% |
| 19th | Lithuania | 11.4% of adults 16+ | Europe | 40% |
| 20th | Switzerland | 9.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 37% |
| 21st | Estonia | 9.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 33% |
| 22nd | Sweden | 9.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 30% |
| 23rd | Norway | 9.8% of adults 16+ | Europe | 27% |
| 24th | Iceland | 9.4% of adults 16+ | Europe | 23% |
| 25th | Finland | 8.9% of adults 16+ | Europe | 20% |
| 26th | New Zealand | 8.8% of adults 16+ | Oceania | 17% |
| 27th | Luxembourg | 8.5% of adults 16+ | Europe | 13% |
| 28th | Germany | 7.3% of adults 16+ | Europe | 10% |
| 29th | Netherlands | 7.3% of adults 16+ | Europe | 7% |
| 30th | United Kingdom | 7.2% of adults 16+ | Europe | 3% |