World Happiness Report: Mauritius Africa’s most happy country

Mauritians are happy, according to a report published last week. The World Happiness Report of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), compiled on behalf of the United Nations, indicates that Mauritius is the second happiest country on the African continent. Only Algeria is ahead of us.

Only five African countries are among the Top 100, according to this index. Worldwide, Mauritius ranks 66th, just after Turkmenistan. The report indicates that in Mauritius, compared with other countries, “the perception of corruption is less, but the GDP (per capita gross domestic product) is the most important reason” behind this honourable score. The only drawback: the disparity between the two extremes in the perception of being happy. Thus, more people say they are either happy or not happy, while there are fewer people who say they are moderately happy.

By way of comparison, the number of Algerians who say they are happy is better distributed between the two extremes. The criteria used to measure the happiness of citizens are wealth, freedom and trust in government. Sustainable Development Solutions Network argues that the index of happiness is increasingly seen as a determining indicator of social progress. Denmark, followed closely by Switzerland, is the happiest country in the world, with Burundi being the worst off.