And The Happiest People on Earth Are…
And The Happiest People on Earth Are…
If the happiness index of a country is measured by its music, dance, art and comedy skits, Nigerians could easily be among the top contenders for the Happiest People on Earth globally.
Even Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, toyed with the idea in his latest novel, The Happiest People on Earth.
Sadly, this is not the case.
The newly released 2024 World Happiness Index has shown that Nigeria is among the countries with the least happy people in the world.
Actually, the Happiest People on Earth for the 2024 year are Oldies 60 years and above.
And guess what? They live in Denmark!
The highest happiness score in 2024 is 7.92 out of 10, representing the happiness score of old people, 60 and above, in Denmark.
Really, the happiest people of all ages living on earth live in Finland. They scored 7.74 on the happiness scale, where 0 means the least level of happiness, and 10 is the maximum level of happiness.
The happiest young people, aged below 30, live in Lithuania with a happiness score of 7.76.
The happiest lower middle-aged people, aged 30 - 44, live in Finland.
The same country hosts the happiest upper middle-aged people, aged 45-59, with a happiness score of 7.90.
For the oldies, 60 and above, they enjoy their time most in Denmark, with a score of 7.92.
Afghanistan hosts people of all age grades who have the least happiness in the world.
In fact, the lowest happiness score for the 2024 year is 1.46 out of 10, representing the happiness score of old people, 60 years and above, in Afghanistan.
In essence, the saddest set of people in the world currently are the old people in Afghanistan
The World Happiness Index Report is based on individual perceptions of different aspects of life that induce happiness. It measures major areas of human existence that explain individual and national happiness, such as the economy, social welfare, health and governance.
This year’s report measured 143 countries as opposed to its measure of 151 countries in previous years.
It aimed to measure the happiness of “the world’s young, old and everyone in between.”
The 2024 World Happiness Report shows that in the last 12 years, there has been an increase of over 20% in happiness inequality among regions and age groups.
Happiness in Nigeria: Past Vs Present
Nigeria ranks 102nd on the World’s Happiness ranking. This is a decline from the 95th position it held in 2023.
Nigerians perceive themselves to be less happy in 2024 compared to 2023.
However, this has not been the worst year for Nigerians' perception of their happiness. The country’s indices and ranking were the lowest in 2022. They ranked 118th with an index of 4.55 out of 10.
The report measures individuals' quality of life or life satisfaction based on these six key variables: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perception of corruption.
This indicates that most Nigerians have identified that their quality of life, such as living arrangements, income, health behaviours, condition and care, social engagement and support, have not improved significantly in the last five years.
This degree of life satisfaction also varies across the age groups and has greatly changed in the last 12 years of the report.
Life Satisfaction among Age Groups in Nigeria
Nigeria has a booming population of over 210 million, about 70% below 30 years of age. This means that the highest percentage of the population is the Young.
The report shows that young people in Nigeria below 30 years of age are unsatisfied with life there. They are ranked 108th in the world happiness index for young people, with a score of 4.91 over 10.
Since the young population makes up about 70% of the country’s population, it implies that more than half of the nation’s population is not happy with the quality of their life. Therefore, the country is evaluated as not having good life satisfaction.
This unhappiness of the young can be attributed to age-related variables, such as schooling, employment, social interactions and support, financial status, and health, which affect their quality of life.
The report shows that more young people, of which Nigeria is not exempted, are struggling with loneliness, less social support and tangible social connectedness than other age groups, and this has resulted in lesser life satisfaction.
Most Young people in Nigeria are experiencing greater difficulty accessing the variables mentioned above as a recent decline in the country’s living standards has further decreased their quality of life. Most of them cannot afford the things needed to improve their quality of life and gain better life satisfaction.
The Happiest Age Group in Nigeria
In contrast, the Upper middle age group consists of people between the ages of 45 and 59 years old and has been reported to be the happiest age group in the country.
This age group is ranked 87th in the World Happiness Index Report with a score of 5.04 out of 10.
This age group is within the peak period of their life. They are perceived to have achieved most of what they wish to achieve in terms of education, marriage, family, financial stability, great social network, etc, or have simply come to terms with what they could or couldn’t achieve in life. This gives them better life satisfaction than the other three age groups.
The Least Happy Age Group in Nigeria
The old people have been reported to be the least happiest age group among the age groups in Nigeria.
The age group is ranked 130th in the World Happiness Index Report with an index of 3.72. Globally, the old people in Nigeria are among the world's 20 least happiest old populations.
According to Statista, the old people in Nigeria account for 9.4 million people in a population of over 210 million. This is 4.5% of the total Nigerian population.
Yet, they are mostly affected by the negative trends in some of the major variables affecting Nigeria's quality of life.
This age group has specific socioeconomic factors that affect their quality of life evaluation. These include living conditions, financial security, health conditions and care, social engagements, support and relationships.
Despite the old population accounting for a small portion of the nation's population, there is still a need to ensure that this age group enjoys a good quality of life.
The report shows that in Nigeria, life improves as you age. You are less likely to be satisfied in life as a young Nigerian. Your life satisfaction will greatly improve as you advance into the lower middle age group (30-44 years) and the upper middle age group (45-59 years).
Happiness in the World: Young Vs Old
The report shows that young people are becoming the happiest in the world compared to the old age group.
Across the regions, 23 countries have a happier older population than the young population, and most of these countries are in the European region of the world.
Globally, Young people are the happiest in 73% (105 out of 143) of the world's countries.
Ten countries indicated that the upper middle age group is the happiest of all age groups in their countries. In comparison, 5 countries indicated that the lower middle age group was the happiest among all the age groups.
Contrary to the global trend, in all the countries of North America (USA and Canada), Australia and New Zealand, the old people are the happiest.
Conversely, in all South Asian countries, young people are the happiest.
The analysis shows that young people have higher life satisfaction than old people worldwide.
What do the happy old people in North America, Australia and New Zealand have in common?
What do the happy young people in South Asia have in common?
While the World Happiness Index is a perception index, it could help policymakers to gauge what matters to their citizens generally and across different demographic groups to provide the needed intervention.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of Data Dive. It was written by Lucy Okonkwo, an exceptional Nigerian who rates her happiness score at 7 out of 10. It was edited by Oluseyi Olufemi, who has made peace with his happiness level of 5.5 out of 10.
Have a Happy Week Ahead!