Every year, international institutions measure the happiness index for countries in the world. In Africa, one country stands out in the 2020 ranking ...
This Saturday March 20 is World Happiness Day. Happiness that can be measured. Indeed, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) regularly delivers a “Global Happiness Index”. This is measured on the basis of the gross domestic product of each country. But not only, because in life it's not just money.
"Everyone recognizes that the GDP is an insufficient indicator to judge the situation of the world or of a country", affirms the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which quotes Equatorial Guinea, whose GDP has long been, thanks to oil, at the same level as that of Greece. But with a mortality rate of children under 5 years old thirty times higher than in Greece, not sure that Guinea is a country where we can say that happiness is omnipresent.
To better understand how the country happiness index is calculated, we must answer a question, we must therefore answer a question: What is a happy world? In addition to per capita GDP, social assistance, healthy life expectancy, freedom and the perception of corruption, among others, must be taken into account to calculate this index.
And this therefore gives a ranking that is surprising to say the least. In 2020, Mauritius is at the top of the country happiness index. The only country whose index exceeds 6, Mauritius is closely followed by Libya. Côte d'Ivoire closes the podium. Benin and even Congo follow. Looking at the bottom of the ranking, we finally understand the difference between our perception of a country and the way in which the population lives there. If the South Sudan in the grip of an endless civil war, is last in the standings, Rwanda is for example 47th, far from the image of model country which is made of it.
A constantly evolving ranking. In 2016, Algerians felt happier than other populations on the continent. As for the Zambians, while they were relatively happy in 2015, their perception of happiness has steadily plummeted ever since.
Rank | State or territory | World Happiness Index | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||
© Atlasocio.com | |||||||
1 | Maurice | 5,477 | 5,648 | 5,629 | 5,891 | 5,888 | 6,101 |
2 | Libya | 5,754 | 5,615 | 5,525 | 5,566 | 5,525 | 5,489 |
3 | Ivory Coast | 3,655 | 3,916 | 4,180 | 4,671 | 4,944 | 5,233 |
4 | Benin | 3,340 | 3,484 | 3,657 | 4,141 | 4,883 | 5,216 |
5 | Congo | 3,989 | 4,272 | 4,291 | 4,559 | 4,812 | 5,194 |
6 | Ghana | 4,633 | 4,276 | 4,120 | 4,657 | 4,996 | 5,148 |
7 | Morocco | 5,013 | 5,151 | 5,235 | 5,254 | 5,208 | 5,095 |
8 | Cameroon | 4,252 | 4,513 | 4,695 | 4,975 | 5,044 | 5,085 |
9 | Somaliland | 5,073 | 5,057 | 5,057 (2016) |
5,057 (2016) |
5,057 (2016) |
5,057 (2016) |
10 | Algeria | 5,605 | 6,355 | 5,872 | 5,295 | 5,211 | 5,005 |
11 | Senegal | 3,904 | 4,219 | 4,535 | 4,631 | 4,681 | 4,981 |
12 | Guinea | 3,656 | 3,607 | 3,507 | 3,964 | 4,534 | 4,949 |
13 | Niger | 3,845 | 3,856 | 4,028 | 4,166 | 4,628 | 4,910 |
14 | Gabon | 3,896 | 4,121 | 4,465 | 4,758 | 4,799 | 4,829 |
15 | South Africa | 4,642 | 4,459 | 4,829 | 4,724 | 4,722 | 4,814 |
16 | Burkina Faso | 3,587 | 3,739 | 4,032 | 4,424 | 4,587 | 4,769 |
17 | The Gambia | - | - | - | - | 4,516 | 4,751 |
18 | Mali | 3,995 | 4,073 | 4,190 | 4,447 | 4,390 | 4,729 |
19 | Nigeria | 5,268 | 4,875 | 5,074 | 5,155 | 5,265 | 4,724 |
20 | Somalia | - | 5,440 | 5,151 | 4,982 | 4,668 | 4,668 (2019) |
21 | Mozambique | 4,971 | 4,971 (2015) |
4,550 | 4,417 | 4,466 | 4,624 |
22 | Kenya | 4,419 | 4,356 | 4,553 | 4,410 | 4,509 | 4,583 |
23 | Namibia | - | 4,574 | 4,574 | 4,441 | 4,639 | 4,571 |
24 | Liberia | 4,571 | 3,622 | 3,533 | 3,495 | 3,975 | 4,558 |
25 | Uganda | 3,931 | 3,739 | 4,081 | 4,161 | 4,189 | 4,432 |
26 | Chad | 3,667 | 3,763 | 3,936 | 4,301 | 4,350 | 4,423 |
27 | Tunisia | 4,739 | 5,045 | 4,805 | 4,592 | 4,461 | 4,392 |
28 | Mauritania | 4,436 | 4,201 | 4,292 | 4,356 | 4,490 | 4,375 |
29 | Djibouti | 4,369 | 4,369 (2015) |
4,369 (2015) |
4,369 (2015) |
4,369 (2015) |
4,369 (2015) |
30 | Congo (DRC) | 4,517 | 4,236 | 4,280 | 4,245 | 4,418 | 4,311 |
31 | Eswatini | 4,867 | 4,867 (2015) |
4,867 (2015) |
4,867 (2015) |
4,212 | 4,308 |
32 | Comoros | 3,956 | 3,956 | 3,956 (2016) |
3,956 (2016) |
3,973 | 4,289 |
33 | Togo | 2,839 | 3,303 | 3,495 | 3,999 | 4,085 | 4,187 |
34 | Ethiopia | 4,512 | 4,508 | 4,460 | 4,350 | 4,286 | 4,186 |
35 | Madagascar | 3,681 | 3,695 | 3,644 | 3,774 | 3,933 | 4,166 |
36 | Egypt | 4,194 | 4,362 | 4,735 | 4,419 | 4,166 | 4,151 |
37 | Sudan | 4,550 | 4,139 | 4,139 | 4,139 | 4,139 (2018) |
4,139 (2018) |
38 | Sierra Leone | 4,507 | 4,635 | 4,709 | 4,571 | 4,374 | 3,926 |
39 | Angola | 4,033 | 3,866 | 3,795 | 3,795 | 3,795 (2018) |
3,795 (2018) |
40 | Burundi | 2,906 | 2,905 | 2,905 | 2,905 | 3,775 | 3,775 |
41 | Zambia | 5,129 | 4,795 | 4,514 | 4,377 | 4,107 | 3,759 |
42 | Lesotho | 4,898 | 4,898 (2015) |
3,808 | 3,808 | 3,802 | 3,653 |
43 | Malawi | 4,292 | 4,156 | 3,970 | 3,587 | 3,410 | 3,538 |
44 | Botswana | 4,332 | 3,974 | 3,766 | 3,590 | 3,488 | 3,479 |
45 | Tanzania | 3,781 | 3,666 | 3,349 | 3,303 | 3,231 | 3,476 |
46 | Central | 3,678 | 3,678 (2015) |
2,693 | 3,083 | 3,083 | 3,476 |
47 | Rwanda | 3,465 | 3,515 | 3,471 | 3,408 | 3,334 | 3,312 |
48 | Zimbabwe | 4,610 | 4,193 | 3,875 | 3,692 | 3,663 | 3,299 |
49 | South Sudan | - | 3,832 | 3,591 | 3,254 | 2,853 | 2,817 |