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Sub-region of Europe · Country Index 2026

Southern Europe

How are the countries of Southern Europe doing?

Half of Southern Europe’s 12 placed countries sit at or above 31st of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 5th of 22 sub-regions. Slovenia is placed highest, 14th; Bosnia and Herzegovina lowest, joint 62nd. 6 reach the world’s top fifth. 5 more of its 17 countries and territories are not placed.

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Southern EuropeUN M49 039

Southern Europe, shown in red on a map of the world

31st

median position of 183 · 5th of 22 sub-regions

Europe →median 26th

01Who is in it

The countries of Southern Europe

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Southern Europe

The Mediterranean south and the Balkans, from Portugal to Greece.

Southern Europe covers the Mediterranean south of the continent: the Iberian, Italian and Balkan peninsulas, with Malta and the small states of Andorra, San Marino and the Holy See. Mountains run through each peninsula, and a Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and mild winters shapes its farming and its coasts.

Ancient Greece and Rome grew up here, and the region later saw the spread of Christianity and Islam, the maritime empires of Venice, Portugal and Spain, and centuries of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. Its modern borders were largely drawn in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Romance languages, Greek, Albanian and the South Slavic languages are spoken across it.

03Where

Southern Europe on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st183rdMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Southern Europe’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 183, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Southern Europe’s 12 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st183rd
1Slovenia14 / 183between 12th and 21st if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Portugal22 / 183between 18th and 24th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3Spain27 / 183between 25th and 29th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
4Malta28 / 183between 26th and 29th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
5Croatia30 / 183between 29th and 33rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
6Italy31 / 183between 28th and 32nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
7Greece38 / 183between 36th and 39th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
8Serbia50 / 183between 48th and 53rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
9Albania53 / 183between 49th and 58th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
10North Macedonia54 / 183between 50th and 56th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
11Montenegro55 / 183between 52nd and 57th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
12Bosnia and Herzegovina62 / 183between 59th and 68th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 5 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Andorra, Gibraltar, Kosovo, San Marino and Vatican City.

Southern Europe among the 22 sub-regions with a median

5th of 22. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Western Europe8thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  2. Northern Europe11thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 26th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to New Zealand 19th.
  4. Northern America24thPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to United States 37th.
  5. Southern Europe31stPlaced countries run from Slovenia 14th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 62nd.
  6. Eastern Asia42ndPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Mongolia 75th.
  7. Eastern Europe43rdPlaced countries run from Czechia 10th to Russia 73rd.
  8. Central America80thPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  9. Caribbean81stPlaced countries run from Barbados 67th to Haiti 173rd.
  10. South America83rdPlaced countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 133rd.
  11. South-eastern Asia86thPlaced countries run from Singapore 25th to Myanmar 159th.
  12. Polynesia89thPlaced countries run from Samoa 89th to Tonga 97th.
  13. Western Asia95thPlaced countries run from Cyprus 33rd to Yemen 181st.
  14. Central Asia102ndPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 61st to Turkmenistan 158th.
  15. Southern Asia106thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 52nd to Afghanistan 175th.
  16. Melanesia107thPlaced countries run from Fiji 64th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  17. Micronesia109thPlaced countries run from Kiribati 109th to Kiribati 109th.
  18. Northern Africa116thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 104th to Sudan 179th.
  19. Southern Africa121stPlaced countries run from South Africa 93rd to Eswatini 147th.
  20. Western Africa148thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 94th to Guinea-Bissau 171st.
  21. Eastern Africa153rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  22. Middle Africa166thPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 115th to Chad 180th.
  23. Europe, the whole continent26th
  24. The world’s midpoint91st
1st183rdmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Southern Europe: Health & Wellbeing, 3rd of 22 sub-regions. Weakest: Environment & Sustainability, 15th of 21.

All topics
Southern Europe: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Health & WellbeingFood & AgricultureDevelopment & Human CapitalRisk & ResilienceDemocracy & Civil LibertiesEconomy & InnovationEducation & KnowledgeGender & EqualityGovernance & InstitutionsEnergyPeace & SecurityMobility & TradeDigital & TechnologyPoverty & InequalityWork & LabourEnvironment & SustainabilityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Slovenia8 of 20027 of 18413 of 19620 of 19335 of 19811 of 17622 of 1984 of 18333 of 19435 of 16539 of 17751 of 17758 of 1982 of 15918 of 182118 of 186No standingNo standing
Portugal19 of 20022 of 18434 of 19634 of 19326 of 19832 of 17615 of 19826 of 18327 of 19417 of 16521 of 17728 of 17736 of 19852 of 15958 of 18288 of 186No standingNo standing
Spain14 of 20050 of 18427 of 19651 of 19338 of 19816 of 17634 of 19812 of 18323 of 19425 of 16548 of 17735 of 17711 of 19854 of 15977 of 182111 of 186No standingNo standing
Malta24 of 2003 of 18435 of 1967 of 19352 of 19830 of 17659 of 19862 of 18342 of 19478 of 1653 of 17719 of 17750 of 19830 of 15920 of 182152 of 186No standingNo standing
Croatia29 of 20021 of 18430 of 19669 of 19353 of 19835 of 17612 of 1988 of 18339 of 19427 of 16556 of 17753 of 17776 of 19832 of 15941 of 18282 of 186No standingNo standing
Italy6 of 20026 of 18432 of 19670 of 19350 of 19820 of 17646 of 1983 of 18334 of 19447 of 16555 of 17734 of 17737 of 19863 of 15986 of 182115 of 186No standingNo standing
Greece21 of 20046 of 18432 of 19671 of 19372 of 19848 of 1762 of 19841 of 18346 of 19452 of 165108 of 17721 of 17756 of 19855 of 159127 of 182100 of 186No standingNo standing
Serbia41 of 2001 of 18458 of 19666 of 193136 of 19842 of 17695 of 19830 of 183101 of 194106 of 165142 of 17776 of 17734 of 19849 of 15998 of 182142 of 186No standingNo standing
Albania81 of 20068 of 18454 of 19684 of 193103 of 198109 of 17654 of 19825 of 18363 of 19418 of 16561 of 177139 of 177103 of 19826 of 159146 of 18299 of 186No standingNo standing
North Macedonia30 of 20029 of 18455 of 19632 of 19389 of 19852 of 176122 of 19885 of 18370 of 19487 of 16541 of 17783 of 17795 of 19869 of 159143 of 182154 of 186No standingNo standing
Montenegro37 of 20095 of 18447 of 19645 of 19385 of 19862 of 17645 of 19862 of 18363 of 19469 of 16590 of 177101 of 177128 of 19865 of 159124 of 182141 of 186No standingNo standing
Bosnia and Herzegovina52 of 20033 of 18460 of 19641 of 193102 of 19861 of 176136 of 198104 of 183118 of 194No standing86 of 177100 of 177130 of 19831 of 159119 of 182117 of 186No standingNo standing
Andorra3 of 200No standing38 of 1964 of 19322 of 198No standing112 of 198No standing87 of 194No standingNo standingNo standing113 of 198No standingNo standing164 of 186No standingNo standing
GibraltarNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing67 of 198No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing81 of 177No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Kosovo61 of 200No standingNo standingNo standing75 of 19860 of 176No standing95 of 18393 of 194No standing93 of 177No standing112 of 198121 of 159No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
San Marino1 of 200No standing35 of 196No standing6 of 198No standing72 of 198No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing147 of 198No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Vatican CityNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Region median24th of 20027th of 18435th of 19645th of 19353rd of 19842nd of 17654th of 19830th of 18346th of 19447th of 16556th of 17753rd of 17776th of 19852nd of 15986th of 182117th of 186——
Among sub-regions3rd of 224th of 225th of 225th of 226th of 226th of 216th of 226th of 216th of 227th of 217th of 208th of 229th of 2210th of 2111th of 2115th of 21——

Columns run from the topic where Southern Europe places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Southern Europe in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Southern Europe’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    Vatican CityItaly496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    No reading: Kosovo

    Vatican CitySpain0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Gibraltar, San Marino, Vatican City

    KosovoAndorra1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    SerbiaSan Marino54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Gibraltar, Kosovo, Vatican City

    BIHSlovenia0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    No reading: Andorra, Gibraltar, Kosovo, San Marino, Vatican City

    MaltaMontenegro0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Southern Europe’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Albania2,811,655rank 14327,400rank 14322,724rank 7579.6rank 540.81rank 7110.93rank 32
Andorra80,856rank 197468rank 18867,993rank 1584.04rank 70.913rank 32—
Bosnia and Herzegovina3,185,073rank 13651,200rank 12521,178rank 8077.85rank 700.804rank 7411.04rank 31
Croatia3,896,023rank 13055,960rank 12344,172rank 4278.58rank 630.889rank 415.002rank 96
Gibraltar38,471rank 21210rank 219—83.55rank 14——
Greece10,242,908rank 95128,900rank 9638,219rank 5081.86rank 360.908rank 348.54rank 45
Italy59,499,453rank 25295,720rank 7353,606rank 3083.72rank 110.915rank 296.391rank 66
Kosovo1,700,031rank 153—16,461rank 9878.03rank 67——
Malta532,956rank 171315.15rank 19863,656rank 1783.3rank 170.924rank 242.896rank 146
Montenegro633,552rank 16913,450rank 15728,895rank 6477.09rank 840.862rank 4813.57rank 18
North Macedonia1,831,802rank 15225,220rank 14525,095rank 7077.39rank 780.815rank 6812.26rank 22
Portugal10,430,738rank 9191,606rank 10842,577rank 4382.36rank 270.89rank 406.164rank 70
San Marino33,733rank 21361.2rank 212—85.71rank 20.915rank 29—
Serbia6,773,201rank 11187,589rank 11127,603rank 6876.77rank 870.833rank 627.123rank 56
Slovenia2,118,396rank 14920,135rank 15149,091rank 3381.6rank 390.931rank 213.175rank 137
Spain47,911,579rank 32499,686rank 5149,318rank 3183.67rank 120.918rank 2810.38rank 34
Vatican City496rank 2220.4rank 221—82.98rank 20——

07In records

Southern Europe in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Southern Europe’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Andorra37 → 32+5
  2. Italy32 → 29+3
  3. Malta26 → 24+2

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Croatia40 → 41−1
  2. Serbia61 → 62−1
  3. North Macedonia67 → 68−1
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Southern Europe that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

Western Asia

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Places

Landmarks of Southern Europe

Two places from each member with a gallery on its profile.

  • Colosseo 2020

    Colosseum

    Ancient Roman amphitheatre in the centre of Rome, completed in AD 80.

    Photo: FeaturedPics · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.

    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Freestanding bell tower of Pisa Cathedral, known for its unintended tilt.

    Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Sagrada Família, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

    Sagrada Família

    Basilica in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudí, under construction since 1882.

    Photo: Canaan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • The Alhambra, detail. Granada, Spain.

    Alhambra

    Palace and fortress complex in Granada, built largely under the Nasrid dynasty.

    Photo: Jebulon · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

11Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Europe

12Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Southern Europe?

17 countries and territories: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Vatican City. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification. Kosovo is not listed by M49. This site places it here by geography, and listing it takes no position on its status.

Which country in Southern Europe is placed highest?

Slovenia, placed 14th of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Bosnia and Herzegovina is placed lowest, joint 62nd. 12 of the region’s 17 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Southern Europe compare with other regions?

Half of its 12 placed countries sit at or above 31st of 183, which places it 5th of 22 sub-regions. The median across Europe is 26th. The middle of the whole field is 91st. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Southern Europe?

151,720,923 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 17 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Southern Europe?

By land area, Spain: 499,686 square kilometres (2024). By population, Italy: 59,499,453 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Southern Europe: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/southern-europe

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