Nigeria Drops to Eighth Happiest Country in Africa

Ravaged by political and social economic challenges, Nigeria has dropped to the position of eighth happiest country in Africa, according to the 2023 World Happiness Report.

The latest report showed that as of March 2023, Finland was the happiest country in the world for the sixth consecutive time.

Only two decades ago, Nigeria was ranked as the country with the happiest people.

In 2003, the World Values Survey reported that the world's happiest people were living in Nigeria.

However, in the 2023 ranking, Mauritius emerged as the happiest country in Africa, boasting a happiness score of 5.902.

Its extremely happy landscapes and diverse culture undoubtedly contribute to this high ranking.

Algeria was a close second, with a score of 5.392, reflecting a sense of well-being prevalent in North Africa.

Others on the list were: South Africa, in the third position, while DR Congo, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire came fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Mozambique came seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th in that order.

The World Happiness Report is a report by the United Nations that measures national happiness.

According to the report, the data is primarily sourced from the Gallup World Poll and based on respondent ratings of their own lives.

However, given the economic challenges prevalent in Nigeria, which manifested in terms of business collapse, an exodus of multinationals, an unstable foreign exchange market, and the attendant rise in standards of living, inflation, and high cost of living, bookmakers had predicted a poor showing on the ranking of countries with happy people.

In its 2003 report, which was carried out over three years, reported that Nigeria beat more than 65 countries to claim the top spot.

In 2012, a Gallup poll revealed that Africans were the world’s most optimistic people. In Nigeria specifically, 88 per cent of people were said to be optimistic about their future.