Morocco was ranked the 84th happiest country out of 155 total, according to World Happiness Report released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) on the occasion of the International Day of Happiness.

Despite the relative rise in Morocco’s rate of happiness from last year’s ranking of 90th happiest country, the kingdom is still below the average of the overall international standings.

At the level of North Africa, Algeria landed at the 53th position, making it the happiest country in North Africa, followed by Libya at 68th place, Morocco at 84th, Tunisia at 102th, Egypt at 104th, and lastly Sudan at 147th place.

The report was based on GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support (measured by having someone to count on in times of hardship), trust (measured by the absence or presence of corruption in governments and business), freedom to make life decisions, and generosity (measured by recent donations).

The report noted that key factors that lead to misery are not solely economic variables (such as income and employment), but also social factors (education and family life), as well as mental and physical health.

Though African countries dominated the list of unhappiest countries, researcher explained that Africans demonstrate “ingenuity that makes life bearable even under less than perfect circumstances.”

The report thus raised the question, “What if African youth’s confidence in their future and their entrepreneurial spirit were to be matched by substantial investment in their development?” If so, they predicted, “African countries would join the ranks of the world’s prosperous and happy nations.”

Source : Morocco World News