Nigeria ranks 102nd in world, decline from previous year — report

Nigeria has been ranked as the 102nd happiest nation in the world, scoring 4.881 points, as per the latest World Happiness Report released on Wednesday.

This marks a decline of seven spots from the previous year’s ranking of 95th by Sustainable Development Solutions.

On the opposite end of the scale, Afghanistan, which has been dealing with chronic humanitarian crises since 2020, remains at the bottom of the rankings.

Notably, for the first time in almost a decade, the United States and Germany failed to make the top 20 happiest countries, finishing 23rd and 24th, respectively.

Costa Rica and Kuwait joined the top 20, while larger countries such as the United States and Germany were noticeably absent. The analysis identified a tendency in which the happiest countries had lower populations, implying a possible link between happiness and social size.

The survey also found a considerable drop in happiness in many regions from 2006 to 2010, particularly in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Jordan. In contrast, Eastern European countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, and Latvia recorded significant improvements in happiness levels.

Individuals’ self-assessed life satisfaction, GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and levels of corruption all influence happiness rankings.

Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki, attributed Finland’s high rating to characteristics such as a close relationship with nature, a healthy work-life balance, and a solid welfare society with low levels of corruption.

However, the survey found that there is a rising disparity in happiness between areas, with older generations reporting happier in some parts of the world while younger generations are unhappy, particularly in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.