Wednesday, March 16, 2016

World Happiness Report: East Africa and the Horn

The annual World Happiness Report for 2016 has just been released.  It ranks 156 countries (and Somaliland region) by their happiness levels.  Leading experts in economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and other fields describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations.  The happiest nation in 2016 is Denmark.  The United States ranks number 13.  The least happy nation is Burundi.

East Africa and the Horn provide some surprises.  The happiest nation in the region is Somalia at number 77 followed by Somaliland region at number 97.  They are followed by Ethiopia (115), Kenya (122), Sudan (133), South Sudan (143), Uganda (146), and Tanzania (149).  Eritrea and Djibouti are not included in the ranking.