10 Years of World Happiness Reports (WHR)
The 2023 World Happiness Report evaluates global subjective wellbeing by assessing how individuals rate their lives on a scale of 0 to 10. The report demonstrates that over 75% of cross-national happiness variations can be systematically explained by six structural factors (GDP per capita, Social support networks, Healthy life expectancy, Freedom to make life choices, Generosity, and the Absence of corruption).
True national happiness depends on strong social trust, resilient public institutions, and active community benevolence rather than wealth alone.
What the Report Reveals About South Africa
In the 2023 WHR, South Africa presents a distinct contrast between high day-to-day emotional resilience and lower overarching life evaluations
Happiness Rankings and Inequality
- Global Standing: South Africa ranked 85th out of 137 countries, climbing from its 91st spot in the preceding year.
- Ladder Score: The nation scored a three-year average of 5.275 on the 0-to-10 Cantril ladder scale.
- Happiness Gap: South Africa ranked 73rd in the distribution of wellbeing, yielding a 3.685 point gap between its happier and less happy population halves.
Emotional Resilience vs. Structural Drags
- Daily Affect: South Africans routinely report strong positive emotions that outpace the country’s economic and governance realities.
- Health and Longevity: Low healthy life expectancy remains a primary systemic drag preventing better overall national life evaluations.
- Corruption Perceptions: Public perceptions of widespread corruption across both the business and government sectors weigh heavily on the country’s overall index score
Source: worldhappiness.report, ISBN 978-1-7348080-5-6
The World Happiness Report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an independent editorial board. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of our partners, the University of Oxford, or any organisation, agency, or program of the United Nations.
Reference: Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., Aknin, L. B., De Neve, J.-E., & Wang, S. (Eds.). (2023). World Happiness Report 2023 (11th ed.). Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
