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| Rights groups protest against impunity, perceived corruption in government and environmental damage in Gambia in June 2018 (Photo taken from Freedom Newspaper) |
The
results reveal people in the ‘Smiling Coast’ of Africa are less happy compared
to conflict-affected countries with less stable governments like Libya and
Somalia.
The West African country is among the world poorest countries and is recovering from a 22-year dictatorship described by rights groups as "brutal".
Gambia’s neighbour Senegal, which has seen peaceful and smooth democratic transfer of power since independence, is 10 places above - her people, happier than Gambians.
Gambia’s neighbour Senegal, which has seen peaceful and smooth democratic transfer of power since independence, is 10 places above - her people, happier than Gambians.
Released by the Sustainable
Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on March 20, the World Happiness Report ranks countries on six variables - income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and
generosity – issues that supports people’s well-being.
Income and freedoms
In
The Gambia, income levels are very low, at a little over
25 U.S. dollars a month, for the least paid civil servants.
Fundamental freedoms, though
improving, have been affected by laws restricting freedom of expression, press
freedom, freedom of assembly, and active political participation.
In May 2018, the country’s Supreme Court decided that the laws, which
activists say are draconian, be maintained following a challenge by The Gambia Press Union.
Government officials including
the president and his ministers have constantly threatened to implement restrictive laws like
sedition and false publication in the wake of increasing criticisms.
The police have also on several
occasions restricted peaceful protests by refusing to issue permits and occupying protests grounds.
Globally, Finland
(in 1st position) is the happiest country in the world for the
second year in a row, and in Africa, Mauritius is the happiest at 57th
position. In West Africa, Nigerians are happiest at 85th, thirteen
places above Ghana at 98th.
South Sudan, at 156th, is the least happy country
in the world and in Africa, with the Central African Republic (155th)
and Tanzania at 153rd at the bottom of the ranking.
“The world is a rapidly changing
place,” Professor John Helliwell, co-editor of the report, said. “How
communities interact with each other whether in schools, workplaces,
neighborhoods or on social media has profound effects on world happiness.”
Despite Gambia’s 120th position in global
happiness, the West African country is ranked ahead of Egypt, Ethiopia, India,
Kenya, Mauritania, Tunisia, and Ukraine.
The Gambia did not feature in the 2018 report. The World Happiness
Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156
countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
The authors of the report said this
year’s survey focused on happiness and the community.
It explored “how happiness has
evolved over the past dozen years, with a focus on the technologies, social
norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes.”
Produced in partnership with The Ernesto Illy Foundation, this year’s report ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be, according to their evaluations of their own lives.
“Social
happiness is... even more relevant, in order to give a positive
perspective and outlook for the present and for the future,” Andrea Illy, a Board member of The Ernesto Illy Foundation, said.
Probably die
According
to the latest WHO data
published in 2018, life expectancy in Gambia is 61 years, and
the country is placed at 161st position in the World Life Expectancy rankings.
As
of 2016, of every one thousand people, between 235 and 290 people will probably die before
their 60th birthday.
Meanwhile, certain sections of society have
been unhappy about some government policies, which is key in
determining the state of happiness of citizens.
In September 2018, President Adama
Barrow threatened
to take action against growing public dissent against his government.
“Enough is enough,” he said upon his
return from the UN General Assembly in New York, according to the blog, She
Is The People.
His comments came amid rising civil
actions among civil servants demanding better wages and working conditions, allegations
of corruption in government, environmental damage, land problems, and anger at
poor electricity and water supply.
Gambians are however happier than their peers in 36 countries around the world, according to the world happiness report launched at the United Nations on Wednesday.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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