Top 10 Happiest Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa 2018
Finland has taken the top spot as the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2018, which ranked 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants. Norway and Denmark came second and third, respectively, in the report published last month whereas the most powerful country in the world, the United States, ranked 18th, dropping down four spots from last year. Measured by surveys undertaken by Gallup, an American research-based, global performance-management consulting company, from 2015 to 2017, the rankings are based on the answers of 3,000 sampled people from each country. Levels of gross domestic product, life expectancy at birth, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption were considered in the rankings. In the report, sub-Saharan African countries appeared to be among the biggest gainers and the biggest losers, showing the variety and volatility of experiences in the region. Togo, the largest gainer by almost 1.2 points, was the lowest-ranked country in 2017 and now ranks 139th in the world, 17 places higher, whereas Malawi, ranked 100th in the world, was the biggest loser by almost one point. Mauritius, Nigeria and Somalia, a country weighed down by decades of ongoing conflict, are the top three happiest nations in sub-Saharan Africa. On the other hand, Ethiopia, which is embroiled in ethnic violence and unrest in the past three years, ranked 20th among the Sub-Saharan countries. The country was also a 127th position in the world, behind Egypt, Mozambique, and Kenya.
Rank |
Country |
Happiness Score (on a scale of 0 – 10) |
---|---|---|
1 |
Mauritius |
5.891 |
2 |
Nigeria |
5.115 |
3 |
Somalia |
4.982 |
4 |
Cameroon |
4.975 |
5 |
Gabon |
4.758 |
6 |
South Africa |
4.724 |
7 |
Ivory Coast |
4.671 |
8 |
Ghana |
4.657 |
9 |
Senegal |
4.631 |
10 |
Sierra Leone |
4.571 |
Source: World Happiness Report, 2018.
7th Year • Nov.16 – Dec.15 2018 • No. 68