Most well-off East Africans revealed

So why are Ugandans the most angry?

COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT |  When Ugandans are asked to evaluate their life based on quality of life, happiness, and fulfillment on a ladder with steps numbered from 0 (the worst possible life) to 10 (the best possible life), the average rank most choose is 5.70.

That is the best life evaluation by people in the countries of the East African region, according to results of a survey reported recently entitled ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa: An Intracontinental Analysis of 38 Well‑Being Indicators in 40 Countries.’

Life evaluation covers how people feel at present and also how they feel about the future. According to the report, life evaluation is one of the 38 indicators used to measure what they call `flourishing’ – that sense of well-being that goes beyond just happiness or success.

“It’s about your whole life being good, including how you interact with other people and your community,” they say. “It includes the social, spiritual and ecological contexts in which one lives. So, it’s not just about how one feels, but how one lives – fully, meaningfully and in a satisfying relationship with the world around us.”

Measuring flourishing covers areas like general life evaluation, enjoyment, how often people smile and laugh, level of rest, treatment with respect, and learning new things. Other indicators are mind at ease, inner peace, health, having people to count on, opportunities to make friends, whether one feels it is safe to walk alone, and whether one has had money or property stolen, was assaulted, enjoys work, has choice in work, is satisfied with the standard of living, and feels the standard of living is getting better. Other indicators include lack of money for food or shelter, donated money, volunteered, or helped somebody. Other indicators include; calmness, absence of physical pain, worry, sadness, stress, or anger, and life balance, harmony with people around, and feeling stable, secure, or content.

These indicators are assembled from data from three Gallup World Polls (GWP) of (2020, 2021, and 2022) which sample between 120 and 142 countries each year. Samples from the three waves were combined in the analysis to produce a larger overall sample.

For all 38 well-being indicators that were analysed, they report two metrics for each of the 40 African countries included in the GWP: (a) the country’s ranking (out of all countries in the GWP); and (b) a relevant descriptive statistic for each item (i.e., mean or percentage).

The study covered Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in the East Africa region together with regional neighbours Ethiopia, Congo Brazzaville and DR Congo and other African countries.

According to the study, the country with the best life evaluation on the African continent based on quality of life, happiness, and fulfillment is Libya at 6.67 and ranked at number 53 out of 140 countries globally.

As the ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ report notes, Libya which has endured internal strife since 2011 when its long-reigning leader Muamar Gadhafi was toppled, is an unusual place to find people who evaluate their life so possibly.

Study findings

The report notes that focusing on such a perception of Libya is wrong and is perpetuated mainly by previous reports that focus on GDP figures, income and living conditions, health and education in a given country to provide a measure of human development which is comparable between countries and over time. Such reports include the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Gallup World Poll: Happiness, the World Happiness Report and other global economic development indices. The ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ says it aims to challenge and extend such reports by examining not only life evaluation but also other dimensions of well-being. What does it mean to live a good life? That is the question they focus on. It is the new idea called `flourishing’.

What does it mean to live a good life?

The ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ study was done by professors Victor Counted of the College of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Regent University, USA; Richard G. Cowden, a social-personality psychologist and Research Scientist with the Human Flourishing Programme at Harvard University, and Timothy Lomas, a Psychology Research Scientist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

While, the ‘Global Flourishing Study’ is an ongoing five-year longitudinal study in over 200,000 participants across 22 countries, the ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ is in 40 countries in Africa.

According to the ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ authors, “well-being is a multi-faceted and complex concept that encompasses various dimensions of human life, including physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, and financial stability.” These dimensions are broken down into three main areas; life evaluation, daily emotions and experiences, and quality of life.

Life evaluation is based on quality of life, happiness, and fulfillment on an imaginary ladder with steps numbered from 0 (the worst possible life) to 10 (the best possible life). That is where the average rank Ugandans choose is 5.70 and is the best in East Africa.

Ugandans apparently rank very highly on smiling and laughing, both globally and compared to regional peers. The country ranks 45 globally and is the best in the region on this dimension. Kenyans also smile and laugh quite a bit at 47 but not the Congolese

African countries, however, fare very badly on life evaluation and Uganda, which is the best in East Africa, is ranked at 112 globally out of 140 countries. Ethiopia, whose mean life evaluation is 5.68, is ranked globally at 114, Kenya is next at global rank 115, Tanzania 136, and DR Congo is at 139 out 140 countries with an average life evaluation of 4.78.

So why do Ugandans generally have a better evaluation of their lives than their neighbors?

Ugandans apparently rank very highly on smiling and laughing, both globally and compared to regional peers. The country ranks 45 globally and is the best in the region on this dimension. Kenyans also smile and laugh quite a bit at 47 but not the Congolese.

Other favourable rankings for Uganda globally include volunteering at rank 15 out of 140 countries, helping somebody at rank 13, learning new things 10. Ugandans are best in the region on all three.

Ugandans also apparently have favourable ranking compared to regional peers on issues where African countries generally report very unfavourably. On resting well, for example, Uganda ranks 77 globally but with 68% of Ugandans saying they are well-rested, the country is second best in the East African region. The best rested country in the region is Tanzania while the worst rested country is the DR Congo at 135.

On general enjoyment, however, Kenyans are the best, followed by Ethiopians and Tanzanians. Uganda only beats DR Congo in enjoyment. Tanzanians, however, have the least worries in the region at rank 9 globally, followed by Kenyans at 26 and Ethiopians at 35. The Congolese have the most worries at rank 136 globally and Ugandans follow at 104.

Kenyans are also the least sad people in the region at rank 59 globally, followed by Tanzanians at 76 and Ethiopians at 82. The Congolese are the saddest at 140, while Ugandans are at position 125, globally.

Ugandans are also the second most stressed people in the region. Only Tanzanians are more stressed. Ethiopians are the least stressed and are at rank 29 globally. Uganda is at 133 out of 140 countries.

Ethiopians are equally very calm at rank 56 globally, although Tanzanians are calmer at rank 54 globally and number one in the region. Congolese are the least calm, just behind Uganda.

According to the study, Ugandans are the most angry people in the region.  They are ranked 131 globally. The Congolese follow closely at 127, and Ethiopians at 110.The least angry people are Tanzanian at rank 62 globally followed by Kenyans at 95.

Ugandans are also very stressed people and are ranked at 133 globally out of 140 countries. Only Tanzanians are more stressed than Ugandans at rank 135, followed by the Congolese. Ethiopians are the least stressed at rank 29 globally followed by Kenyans.

Generally, people in the East African region do not feel stable or secure, with the Congolese feeling the least stable or secure, followed by Ugandans.  They also feel they are not treated with respect, especially the Congolese followed by Ugandans, and Tanzanians.

Ugandans feel most unsafe in the region. When asked if they feel safe to walk alone, only 45% Ugandans said “yes”. In Tanzania 67% said yes, Kenya, Ethiopia, and DR Congo 52%. The safest country   surveyed in Africa was Egypt where 85% said they feel safe to walk alone.

Ethiopians report the least exposure to physical pain at rank 33 globally, followed by Kenyans at 72. There is, however, a lot of physical pain in the other regional countries, especially in the DR Congo, followed by Uganda and Tanzania.

Hedonic well-being versus eudemonic well-being

So how can Ugandans rank so highly on life evaluation, smiling and laughing, enjoyment, rest, volunteering, helping somebody, and learning new things and still be the most angry, stressed, not feeling respected, and fearing to walk alone?

The authors call this discrepancy a “paradox” between experiencing or expressing more hedonic well-being, characterised by the pursuit of pleasure and immediate satisfaction, as opposed to eudemonic well-being, which is associated with finding meaning and fulfillment in life.

They use a closer at this paradox by examining the nature of well-being experienced by Kenyans, who are the “enjoyers” of the region.

According to the authors, Kenya shows an interesting paradox in its well-being indicators: despite having made notable strides in improving access to healthcare and education, it ranks relatively low in combined life evaluation (115) and yet ranks relatively high in enjoyment (62) and smiling or laughing (47).

This discrepancy prompts a closer examination of the nature of well-being experienced by Kenyans, including questions about whether Kenyans might be experiencing or expressing more hedonic well-being as opposed to eudemonic well-being.

“This pattern of findings may reflect the complex landscape of well-being in Kenya, where daily positive emotions are prevalent even in the face of challenges that may affect overall satisfaction with life,” the authors say.

The authors explain that political stability can also influence well-being. Countries with stable governance structures and low levels of conflict generally exhibit better well-being. For example, Botswana, which has a relatively stable political environment, ranks higher in calmness (79) compared to conflict-affected countries like Congo (Kinshasa) (133).

However, political stability alone does not guarantee high well-being, as shown by Gabon’s low rankings in enjoyment (127) and calmness (122) in the study.

Social structures, including education, healthcare, and social support, also have the potential to influence well-being. Although countries with better access to healthcare, education, and social support tend to have higher well-being.

Better understanding of well-being in Africa is crucial

The authors say that a better understanding of well-being in Africa is crucial not only for regional development and policymaking but also for enriching the global discourse on individual well-being and human fourishing more broadly.

“We attempt to provide a more nuanced understanding of well-being in Africa by considering a wide range of well-being variables, including life evaluations, daily emotions and experiences, and quality of life,” the authors say, “It is important to examine both objective and subjective measures of well-being in order to gain a greater understanding of the conditions that influence human flourishing in Africa.”

The authors of the ‘Multidimensional Flourishing in Africa’ argue that understanding the well-being of individuals in African countries requires the consideration of various perspectives from psychology, sociology, and economics.

“While economic development plays a role in well-being, other factors such as social support, access to healthcare, and political stability are also crucial in shaping the overall wellbeing of individuals,” they say.

They add that although countries with higher GDP per capita, such as Mauritius and South Africa tend to rank higher on positive indicators, some countries with lower GDP per capita, like Eswatini and Lesotho, also have relatively high enjoyment rankings. “This discrepancy highlights the importance of considering other factors besides economic development when examining well-being,” they say.

Focus on education

When asked what African countries can focus on to ensure they have better scores on flourish ,Prof. Victor Counted, in an interview published on June 23 in the online scholarly news journal, The Conversation, outline three major areas;  prioritising local knowledge systems, redefining development metrics, and investing in education for character development.

“In my view, the path to greater flourishing lies in embracing local knowledge and investing in culturally relevant development priorities. Instead of following western pathways – centred on individual advancement,” he said, “Africa can model alternative flourishing pathways that reflect what matters most to African people.”

The interview in The Conversation is entitled, `Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being.’

On prioritizing local knowledge systems he said African ideas about a connected society – like ubuntu (southern Africa), ujamaa (East Africa), teranga or wazobia (West Africa), and al-musawat wal tarahum (North Africa) teach people to care for each other and live in peace.

“These values help people live meaningful lives and can inform leadership and legislation,” he said.

On redefining development metrics, he said Western development models focus on individual achievement, economic output and material consumption but GDP per capita fails to capture the everyday realities and aspirations of African communities.

“We should also measure things like how happy people are, how hopeful they feel about the future, how strong and resilient their communities are, and how clean, safe and dignifying their living environments are,” he said.

He emphasized that this is not a new idea – for years development scholars have called for a shift away from narrow economic indicators toward a focus on human dignity, agency, and the real opportunities people have to pursue the lives they value.

“What’s new is the growing availability of data and the momentum to take these alternative metrics seriously in shaping national policies and priorities,” he said.

On investing in education for character development, Prof. Counted said quality education is essential to unlocking the continent’s potential to flourish but Africa needs more than just academic skills and workforce readiness – it needs a strategy for intentional development of values and habits that shape how a person thinks, feels, and acts with integrity.

“Part of the problem lies in how the humanities – fields like history, literature, philosophy, and religious studies – are often undervalued or underfunded in education systems,” he said.

He added: “It is precisely these disciplines that nurture moral imagination, critical reflection, and civic responsibility. We need educational models that form not just workers, but whole persons – people who can think ethically, act responsibly, and lead with character in their communities.”