Kenyans sulk more than Ugandans: UN

Sulking teenage boy and girl sitting on sofa.

What you need to know:

  • Kenya is 123rd globally, an improvement from last report’s 134th ranking. The others are Tanzania (151), Rwanda (152) and lastly Burundi (153).
  • United States with its super power status only ranked 17 below comparably smaller nations as Panama (15) and Austria (8).

Ugandans have been happier than Kenyans over the last three years, a new happiness report indicates.

The United Nations report said that Ugandans were the happiest people followed by Kenyans among the five in East Africa states.

The study was carried out over three years from 2010 and urged governments to encourage citizens to be happy and not sulk.

The new study means Kenyans have been sulking more than Ugandans.

It does not give reasons for the happiness or lack of it.

Uganda’s first ranking in the region makes a joke of the strong economic status of Kenya which ranks the country highly, perhaps reflecting a truism that money does not buy happiness.

Kenya is 123rd globally, an improvement from last report’s 134th ranking. The others are Tanzania (151), Rwanda (152) and lastly Burundi (153).

Our northern neighbour, Ethiopia (119), is ranked just above Uganda.

Globally, the Danes are the happiest people followed by Norwegians then the Swiss, Dutch (Netherlands) and the Swedes close the top five happiest people on the planet.

United States with its super power status only ranked 17 below comparably smaller nations as Panama (15) and Austria (8).

Angolans were found to be the happiest in the continent but came 61st in the world followed by Algerians (73), the Libyans (78), Nigerians (82), and Ghanaians (86).

Togolese are the least happy and are placed last (156) in the list, lower than its West-African neighbour, Benin (155).

The report was conducted by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

It is the second study. The debut World Happiness Report was released in 2012.

Denmark was also ranked the first in the pioneer report followed by Finland.