US analytics and advisory company Gallup, and the UN, have released the 2019 World Happiness Report – a survey of the state of global happiness ranking 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
(Here’s the latest report: Top 20 Happiest (and Saddest) Countries in Africa 2020)
This year’s World Happiness Report focuses on happiness and the community: how happiness has evolved over the past dozen years – on the technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes.
The report is an acknowledgement that GDP, household income and unemployment data do not tell us anything about happiness.
“This means that leaders can no longer assume that the lives of those in their countries improve with a rise in GDP, as was shown in the Arab Uprising countries where GDP was increasing but the ratings of their lives trended downward ahead of the unrest,” the report said.
“Leaders need to follow much more traditional metrics to effectively track and lead the progress of their nation.”
Happiest countries in Africa, 2019
The report found that the happiest countries in not just Africa but the whole world in general tend to have high values for most of the key variables that have been found to support well-being, they include:
Income;
Healthy life expectancy;
Social support;
Freedom;
Trust and generosity.
Happiest country in the world
With its continuing upward trend in average scores, Finland consolidated its hold on first place globally, ahead of an also-rising Denmark in second place.
As in previous years, the top of the list is dominated by Nordic and North European countries with Norway, Iceland, and Sweden all also featuring in the top 10.
Australia (11th), the United Kingdom (15th), and the United States (19th) all featured in the top 20 – with Costa Rica (12th) and Israel (13th) also notable stand outs.
In Africa, Mauritius (57th) was named the happiest country, Followed by Libya (72nd), Nigeria (85th), Algeria (88th) and then finally Morocco (89th).
The countries above all make up the top 5 most Happiest Countries in Africa.
According to the report, The 28 Sub-Saharan African countries showed a real spread of experiences, with 13 significant gainers and 10 significant losers.
Top 20 Happiest Countries in Africa, 2019
1. Mauritius (57th)
2. Libya (72nd)
3. Nigeria (85th)
4. Algeria (88th)
5. Morocco (89th)
6. Cameroon (96th)
7. Ghana (98th)
8. Ivory Coast (99th)
9. Benin (102nd)
10. Congo (103rd)
11. Gabon (104th)
12. South Africa (106th)
13. Senegal (111th)
14. Somalia (112th)
15. Namibia (113th)
16. Niger (114th)
17. Burkina Faso (115th)
18. Guinea (118th)
19. Gambia (120th)
20. Kenya (121st)
