Why is Rwanda listed among the unhappiest countries by the World Happiness Report?
Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has detailed the world’s happiest countries based on several factors. As of 2020, the World Happiness Report determined that Finland is the happiest country in the world.
The report looks at countries with respect to their performance of six particular variables:
- Gross domestic product per capita
- Social support
- Healthy life expectancy
- Freedom to make your own life choices
- Generosity of the general population
- Perceptions of internal and external corruption levels
By relating all of the countries around the world individually to a made-up country called Dystopia, the researchers were able to configure a baseline to compare all other countries. This enabled the study to base the conclusions on rather than not providing any rock bottom.
The country with the highest score was Finland, which is a European country. Fascinating enough, every single country in the top five spots for happiest countries in the world are European countries. Finland is followed in order by Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Netherland. All six variables are considered when defining a score for each country.
The lowest-scoring country in the World Happiness Report of 2020 is Afghanistan. With a total ranking of 2.567, Afghanistan has a low life expectancy rate, paired with low gross domestic product rates per capita.
South Sudan follows Afghanistan with 2.817. South Sudan has a comparable life expectancy and GDP per capita to that of Afghanistan. However, the percentage of generosity within the country is relatively decent. However, where the country fails to excel significantly is personal freedom.
Here is some background information about the top five countries on the list of the world’s happiest countries, based on the 2020 edition of the World Happiness Report.
A concerned Rwandan complains
You should ask those who put it together or see their criteria. How do you measure happiness in a country? It is a very relative term. The same report has Tanzania, Botswana in the same category.
I know for a fact that Tanzanians and Botswana people are some of the happiest people I have ever met. So, it makes me question the whole report and the criteria of the ranking. How is Indonesia ranked? Do you think the ranking is fair?
Are you telling me that we went from the happiest place to live in 2015 to the worst in 4 years? This is why I doubt the credibility and the methodology of these surveys.
Otherwise, we are happy people in Rwanda. We love the direction that our country is heading to. Despite many challenges along the way, we are very determined to change the course of our history.