Kenya has been ranked 114 out of 143 countries in the 2024 World Happiness report.

In a report released during this year’s International Day of Happiness on Wednesday March 20, 2024, Finland was ranked as the world’s happiest country while Afghanistan was ranked as the unhappiest country.

According to the report, the annual ranking is based on six factors including social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption. 

Above all, the economic factor is considered as a key indicator of determining the degree of happiness of individuals.

Additionally, the report shows that a growing population of old people will translate into more cases of dementia and thus contribute to cases of global unhappiness.

“As the global population of older adults continues to rise, the number of people living with dementia is also expected to grow, reaching approximately 139 million dementia cases by the year 2050,” says the report. 

“Dementia is an age-related clinical syndrome that results in progressive or persistent loss of memory and thinking abilities, which in turn can negatively impact well-being.”

However, in most developing countries, happiness can be influenced by steps a person advances in a professional career.

Ciku Waichigo is one of the Kenyans who used to imagine that the only way to be happy was by climbing the corporate ladder. 

“I used to think the key to being happy was in climbing the corporate ladder and growing in my career. However, I did not find lasting happiness,” she said.

According to the World Happiness Report 2023, nearly 60 percent of Kenya’s population is unhappy.

Meanwhile, the United Nations general assembly on July 12, 2012, declared March 20 as the International Day of Happiness.

After the declaration of the happiness day, the exceptional day has been celebrated annually around the same time.

The day has been used for highlighting the meaning of happiness in setting objectives and making people live a better life. 

For instance, a German physicist Albert Einstein once said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

The United Nations term happiness as a fundamental human goal with the General Assembly calling for “a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes the happiness and well-being of all peoples.”