Washington- Morocco was recently ranked 99th out of 156 countries surveyed for the World Happiness Report—a study that evaluates level of happiness of individuals based on indicators such as social support, freedom to make life choices, and perceptions of corruption, among others, within their country.
The World Happiness Report gives a unique perspective on how global issues affect individual lives. The study delves into the many beneficial consequences of well-being (rather than its causes), the ways that policy makers can use well-being as a policy goal, the links between the UN’s Human Development Index and subjective well-being—all by surveying individuals from around the world on the short term positive and negative effects of various indicators, as well as their evaluation of happiness with life as a whole.
Morocco, ranked 99th, scored 4.885 out of 10 points in the World Happiness Report. People surveyed in Morocco felt the most happy with Morocco’s social support and healthy life expectancy; however, Morocco’s lowest happiness values were in the freedom to make life choices, Morocco’s generosity, and perceptions of corruption in the state.
The Middle East and North Africa, as a whole, have seen serious decreases in individual happiness—since 2007, an almost 60% decrease. However, Morocco experienced a very small decrease since 2007, falling from 5.032 to 4.885 out of 10. Falling behind Morocco were Tunisia at 104th, Egypt at 130th place, and Syria ranked 148th place; whereas, Algeria, Jordan, and Libya were placed ahead of Morocco at 73rd place, 74th place, and 78th place, respectively.
Among the happiest countries in the world were Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Austria, Iceland, and Australia rounding out the top ten.
However, the number one country, for the second year in a row, according to the report, was Denmark, scoring 7.693 out of 10 points. And in last place, ranked at 156th, was Togo, who scored 2.936 points.
With more and more responsibility on policymakers to ensure that citizens are living at a certain standard and developing their economic status, knowledge, and well-being, there is a rising global demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their lives. In this sense, The World Happiness Report offers world leaders greater insight into the level of happiness of citizens in order to influence public policy and increase public awareness.
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