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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 32nd of 178 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 6th of 21 sub-regions. Slovenia is placed highest, 12th; Bosnia and Herzegovina lowest, joint 63rd. 6 reach the world’s top fifth. 5 more of its 17 countries and territories are not placed.

Southern EuropeUN M49 039

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

32nd

median position of 178 · 6th of 21 sub-regions

Europe →median 25th

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: 1st178thMember, 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 178, 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 world1st178th
1Slovenia12 / 178between 10th and 15th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
2Portugal22 / 178between 20th and 26th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
3Malta27 / 178between 24th and 29th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
4Spain28 / 178between 25th and 30th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
5Italy31 / 178between 29th and 32nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
6Croatia32 / 178between 31st and 34th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
7Greece41 / 178between 39th and 42nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
8Albania48 / 178between 46th and 56th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
8Serbia48 / 178between 47th and 51st if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
10North Macedonia51 / 178between 47th and 53rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
11Montenegro55 / 178between 50th and 60th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
12Bosnia and Herzegovina63 / 178between 58th and 69th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 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 21 sub-regions with a median

6th of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Northern Europe6thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 25th.
  2. Western Europe10thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from New Zealand 17th to Australia 24th.
  4. Northern America17thPlaced countries run from Canada 17th to United States 37th.
  5. Eastern Asia23rdPlaced countries run from South Korea 14th to Mongolia 73rd.
  6. Southern Europe32ndPlaced countries run from Slovenia 12th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 63rd.
  7. Eastern Europe39thPlaced countries run from Czechia 11th to Russia 68th.
  8. Polynesia70thPlaced countries run from Samoa 70th to Tonga 85th.
  9. South America74thPlaced countries run from Uruguay 34th to Venezuela 137th.
  10. Caribbean78thPlaced countries run from Barbados 63rd to Haiti 169th.
  11. Central America81stPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  12. Western Asia93rdPlaced countries run from Cyprus 35th to Yemen 176th.
  13. South-eastern Asia95thPlaced countries run from Singapore 26th to Myanmar 153rd.
  14. Central Asia100thPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 60th to Turkmenistan 148th.
  15. Southern Asia100thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 44th to Afghanistan 172nd.
  16. Melanesia106thPlaced countries run from Fiji 62nd to Papua New Guinea 138th.
  17. Southern Africa116thPlaced countries run from South Africa 102nd to Eswatini 140th.
  18. Northern Africa127thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 107th to Libya 174th.
  19. Eastern Africa143rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 177th.
  20. Western Africa144thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 74th to Guinea-Bissau 168th.
  21. Middle Africa161stPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 104th to Chad 175th.
  22. Micronesia—
  23. Europe, the whole continent25th
  24. The world’s midpoint88th
1st178thmedian

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: Food & Agriculture, 2nd of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Environment & Sustainability, 16th of 21.

All topics
Southern Europe: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Food & AgricultureHealth & WellbeingDevelopment & Human CapitalEconomy & InnovationGender & EqualityGovernance & InstitutionsRisk & ResilienceEnergyPeace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesDigital & TechnologyEducation & KnowledgeMobility & TradePoverty & InequalityWork & LabourEnvironment & SustainabilityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Slovenia12 of 1758 of 20013 of 19611 of 1767 of 18333 of 19418 of 19239 of 19339 of 17742 of 19838 of 198No standing51 of 1472 of 15918 of 182142 of 181No standingNo standing
Portugal13 of 17526 of 20034 of 19632 of 17626 of 18327 of 19430 of 19218 of 19321 of 17732 of 19841 of 198No standing31 of 14752 of 15958 of 182124 of 181No standingNo standing
Malta22 of 17524 of 20035 of 19630 of 17662 of 18342 of 1947 of 19292 of 1933 of 17746 of 19832 of 198No standing27 of 14743 of 15920 of 182156 of 181No standingNo standing
Spain48 of 17512 of 20028 of 19616 of 17612 of 18323 of 19462 of 19228 of 19348 of 17745 of 19824 of 19828 of 17122 of 14760 of 15977 of 182141 of 181No standingNo standing
Italy25 of 1754 of 20033 of 19620 of 1763 of 18334 of 19480 of 19253 of 19355 of 17756 of 19831 of 19812 of 17123 of 14773 of 15986 of 182147 of 181No standingNo standing
Croatia23 of 17540 of 20030 of 19635 of 1768 of 18339 of 19465 of 19231 of 19356 of 17763 of 19882 of 198No standing56 of 14730 of 15941 of 182103 of 181No standingNo standing
Greece38 of 17525 of 20031 of 19648 of 17640 of 18346 of 19475 of 19258 of 193108 of 17772 of 19868 of 198No standing29 of 14751 of 159127 of 182136 of 181No standingNo standing
Albania94 of 17579 of 20054 of 196109 of 17624 of 18363 of 19483 of 19222 of 19361 of 17790 of 19877 of 19847 of 171139 of 14716 of 159146 of 18269 of 181No standingNo standing
Serbia11 of 17545 of 20058 of 19642 of 17629 of 183101 of 19473 of 192123 of 193142 of 177125 of 1989 of 19863 of 17166 of 14754 of 15998 of 182135 of 181No standingNo standing
North Macedonia53 of 17547 of 20056 of 19652 of 17683 of 18370 of 19427 of 192103 of 19341 of 17786 of 19875 of 198No standing77 of 14779 of 159143 of 182139 of 181No standingNo standing
Montenegro58 of 17542 of 20047 of 19662 of 17663 of 18363 of 19448 of 19275 of 19390 of 17766 of 198112 of 19853 of 171106 of 14783 of 159124 of 182148 of 181No standingNo standing
Bosnia and Herzegovina44 of 17554 of 20060 of 19661 of 17696 of 183118 of 19453 of 192109 of 19386 of 177101 of 198125 of 198103 of 17190 of 14726 of 159119 of 18284 of 181No standingNo standing
AndorraNo standing3 of 20038 of 196No standingNo standing87 of 1945 of 192No standingNo standing22 of 198116 of 198118 of 171No standingNo standingNo standing126 of 181No standingNo standing
GibraltarNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
KosovoNo standing62 of 200No standing60 of 17696 of 18393 of 194No standing182 of 19393 of 17777 of 19879 of 198No standingNo standing122 of 159No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
San MarinoNo standing1 of 20035 of 196No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing9 of 198146 of 19844 of 171No standingNo 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 median25th of 17526th of 20035th of 19642nd of 17629th of 18346th of 19453rd of 19258th of 19356th of 17763rd of 19875th of 19847th of 17151st of 14752nd of 15986th of 182136th of 181——
Among sub-regions2nd of 213rd of 225th of 226th of 216th of 216th of 226th of 227th of 227th of 208th of 228th of 228th of 218th of 2110th of 2111th of 2116th 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 12th of 178 in the Country Index 2026. Bosnia and Herzegovina is placed lowest, joint 63rd. 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 32nd of 178, which places it 6th of 21 sub-regions. The median across Europe is 25th. The middle of the whole field is 88th. 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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