World Happiness Report: Nigeria Ranks 102nd Happiest Nation

By: Emmanuel Ibitoye

Nigeria has been ranked as the 102nd happiest nation in the world, scoring 4.881 points in the latest edition of the World Happiness Report released on Wednesday. This marks a drop of seven places from its position at 95th in the 2023 report by Sustainable Development Solutions.

According to the report, which is released annually to coincide with the International Day of Happiness celebrated on March 20th, Nigeria now stands at 102 out of the 143 countries surveyed. Finland retained its title as the world’s happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, with Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden following closely behind.

The report highlighted that the happiest countries no longer include any of the world’s largest nations. Notably, the United States and Germany, usually among the top 20 happiest nations, ranked 23rd and 24th respectively this year. Instead, Costa Rica and Kuwait entered the top 20 at 12th and 13th positions.

The ranking is based on individuals’ self-assessed evaluations of life satisfaction, along with factors such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. The report also noted growing happiness inequality globally, with significant increases observed among older generations and in Sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting disparities in income, education, healthcare, and social acceptance.