Europe's sunniest countries in 2026, ranked
22 countries ranked by their average annual sunshine across every flyable destination, from long-term climate normals, by Destinations Map. Published September 2026. The country-level companion to our sunniest cities ranking.
Key findings
• Greece is Europe's sunniest country: 2,903 hours a year on average, led by Kos (3,218 h).
• Spain and Portugal complete the top three, at 2,769 and 2,733 h.
• Best for winter sun: Portugal, 57/100 on the November–February Sunshine Score.
The full ranking — annual sunshine
| # | Country | Avg sun h/yr | Sunniest city | Flyable spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 2,903 | Kos 3,218 h | 18 |
| 2 | Spain | 2,769 | Gran Canaria 3,298 h | 31 |
| 3 | Portugal | 2,733 | Faro 3,157 h | 6 |
| 4 | Italy | 2,556 | Lampedusa 3,136 h | 30 |
| 5 | Croatia | 2,282 | Split 2,559 h | 6 |
| 6 | France | 2,247 | Marseille 2,885 h | 27 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 2,214 | Varna 2,248 h | 3 |
| 8 | Romania | 2,075 | Bucharest 2,214 h | 10 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 2,033 | Bern 2,095 h | 3 |
| 10 | Ukraine | 2,032 | Simferopol 2,298 h | 5 |
| 11 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 1,999 | Sarajevo 2,082 h | 3 |
| 12 | Austria | 1,859 | Graz 1,953 h | 4 |
| 13 | Sweden | 1,753 | Luleå 1,895 h | 5 |
| 14 | Denmark | 1,695 | Aalborg 1,764 h | 4 |
| 15 | Finland | 1,678 | Kittilä 1,732 h | 5 |
| 16 | Netherlands | 1,654 | Rotterdam 1,668 h | 3 |
| 17 | Poland | 1,636 | Rzeszów 1,697 h | 11 |
| 18 | Germany | 1,619 | Friedrichshafen 1,913 h | 20 |
| 19 | Czechia | 1,573 | Brno 1,643 h | 3 |
| 20 | United Kingdom | 1,519 | Southampton 1,900 h | 21 |
| 21 | Ireland | 1,515 | Cork 1,693 h | 4 |
| 22 | Norway | 1,496 | Alta 1,800 h | 13 |
Some places are sunnier still but have too few flyable destinations to rank fairly — e.g. Gibraltar (3,134 h at Gibraltar), Malta (3,046 h at Valletta), Albania (2,686 h at Tirana).
Explore all 3,833 destinations on the interactive globe →
Where the winter sun is — Europe's winter-sun countries
The same countries re-ranked by the November–February Sunshine Score (daytime warmth × dryness × sunshine).
| # | Country | Winter sun /100 | Sunniest city | Flyable spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 57 | Faro 3,157 h | 6 |
| 2 | Spain | 52 | Gran Canaria 3,298 h | 31 |
| 3 | Greece | 48 | Kos 3,218 h | 18 |
| 4 | Italy | 32 | Lampedusa 3,136 h | 30 |
| 5 | France | 20 | Marseille 2,885 h | 27 |
| 6 | Croatia | 17 | Split 2,559 h | 6 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 9 | Varna 2,248 h | 3 |
| 8 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 7 | Sarajevo 2,082 h | 3 |
| 9 | Ireland | 4 | Cork 1,693 h | 4 |
| 10 | Romania | 3 | Bucharest 2,214 h | 10 |
| 11 | Switzerland | 3 | Bern 2,095 h | 3 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 3 | Rotterdam 1,668 h | 3 |
| 13 | United Kingdom | 3 | Southampton 1,900 h | 21 |
| 14 | Austria | 2 | Graz 1,953 h | 4 |
| 15 | Ukraine | 1 | Simferopol 2,298 h | 5 |
| 16 | Germany | 1 | Friedrichshafen 1,913 h | 20 |
| 17 | Sweden | 0 | Luleå 1,895 h | 5 |
| 18 | Denmark | 0 | Aalborg 1,764 h | 4 |
| 19 | Finland | 0 | Kittilä 1,732 h | 5 |
| 20 | Poland | 0 | Rzeszów 1,697 h | 11 |
| 21 | Czechia | 0 | Brno 1,643 h | 3 |
| 22 | Norway | 0 | Alta 1,800 h | 13 |
Methodology
Each country's figure is the average across its flyable destinations — every metro-primary airport the atlas covers — from long-term climate normals (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). It reflects the sunshine across the places you can actually fly to, not a meteorological national average. Countries with fewer than 3 such destinations aren't ranked (too few to average fairly); Russia and Türkiye straddle two continents and sit outside this European ranking. The winter table uses the 0–100 Sunshine Score averaged over November–February. See also the sunniest cities in Europe and the worldwide country ranking.
Republish this data
Free to use under CC BY 4.0: credit Destinations Map and link to this page. Download the full ranking as CSV: sunshine-atlas-sunniest-countries-europe.csv (22 countries, annual hours + winter scores).
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