Faith Nyasuguta
The latest edition of the World Happiness Report, a United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network publication, has used statistical analysis to determine the globe’s happiest nations.
The report ranks 146 countries in their overall happiness and highlights the nations that are the happiest or unhappiest.
“The World Happiness Report is changing the conversation about progress and wellbeing. It provides important snapshots of how people around the world feel about the overall quality of their lives,” Christopher Barrington-Leigh, professor at McGill University in Quebec and a researcher involved in the report, said via a statement.
Africa currently ranks as the world’s unhappiest region with a score of 4.5. Even with that, Mauritius remains the happiest country in the region, likely because of its relatively high-income levels.
In contrast, Zimbabwe is the unhappiest country in the region, as it struggles with high poverty levels. In 2021 alone, approximately 6.1 million people were living below the international poverty line.
AFRICA’S 10 MOST HAPPIEST COUNTRIES
Using the Gallup World Poll results, Mauritius was ranked first in Africa: It had an overall score of 6.071 out of 10, which was “significantly ahead” of all other countries.
It is worth noting that Mauritius became a High-Income country in July 2020, but slipped back to its Upper-Middle-Income status in 2021 because of the global pandemic.
Here are Africa’s top 10 countries and their score:
Mauritius – 6.071
Libya – 5.330
Ivory Coast – 5.235
South Africa – 5.194
The Gambia – 5.164
Algeria – 5.122
Liberia – 5.122
Congo – 5.075
Morocco – 5.060
Mozambique – 5.048
According to the rankings, the unhappiest country in Africa, was Zimbabwe, with a score of 2.995.
Here are Africa’s 10 least happy countries alongside their scores:
Zimbabwe – 2.995
Rwanda – 3.268
Botswana – 3.471
Lesotho – 3.512
Sierra Leone – 3.574
Tanzania – 3.502
Malawi – 3.750
Zambia – 3.760
Togo – 4.112
Mauritania – 4.152
What about Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya?
Nigeria may not be in the top 10, but it is not that far off, ranking 118th globally and 21st in Africa with a score of 4.552, just behind Ghana (4.872) but ahead of Kenya (4.543).
