SA falls to 101st place in global happiness index due to corruption and health concerns

South Africa has slipped in global happiness rankings, raising concerns about the declining quality of life despite citizens maintaining strong emotional resilience.

This comes as the world marks the International Day of Happiness, a United Nations-backed initiative highlighting the importance of well-being.

SA falls to 101st globally

Professor Talita Greyling, Director of the Centre for Wellbeing, AI and Social Impact at the University of Johannesburg, said South Africa has dropped from 95th to 101st in global rankings.

She said this reflects worsening life satisfaction.

“We actually dropped globally in our rankings from number 95 to number 101, which means the situation is looking more [bleak] than it did a year ago.”

Happiness is more than emotions

Greyling stressed that happiness is not just about feeling good, but about how people evaluate their lives overall.

“It’s not about emotional happiness… but actually more about how you evaluate your life… how satisfied are you with your life in general.”

She said this broader definition includes perceptions of living standards and overall quality of life.

Strong emotions, weaker reality

Despite the lower ranking, South Africans continue to report strong positive emotions.

Greyling described this as ‘unrealistically high’ compared to the country’s economic and social realities.

She said South Africans show ‘life jubilance’ and the ability to remain emotionally strong even during difficult times.

Corruption and health drag down well-being

Key factors affecting South Africa’s happiness ranking include health outcomes and perceptions of corruption.

Grayling said healthy life expectancy remains low compared to global standards, while concerns about governance are great.

“It seems that people in South Africa [are] worried about the structural state of the economy and the governance, while still keeping very high spirits.”

The findings come in an election year, placing renewed focus on service delivery and governance as key drivers of how South Africans experience their daily lives.

For more details, listen to Greyling on 702’s Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa using the audio player below: