Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia and Kenya all rank in the bottom third of the latest World Happiness Report, reflecting the heavy toll of conflict, economic strain and social fragility across the Horn of Africa.
The 2026 edition of the UN‑supported report, based on Gallup World Poll data from 2023–2025, places Kenya 110th out of 147 countries with an average life evaluation score of 4.674 out of 10. Somalia follows at 117th (4.508), while Ethiopia sits even lower at 135th with a score of 3.985, grouped alongside some of the world’s most distressed societies. None of the five focus countries comes close to the global top tier led by Finland and other Nordic states, where average scores exceed 7.
Somalia’s position – ahead of Ethiopia but still deep in the lower rankings – underlines how prolonged insecurity, displacement and weak services continue to depress people’s assessment of their lives. Kenya’s slightly higher score reflects comparatively stronger institutions and a more diversified economy, yet it still falls well below the global average and behind many middle‑income peers in other regions. The report notes that countries in or near zones of major conflict make up most of those with the steepest drops in happiness since 2006–2010, a pattern that aligns with Sudan’s ongoing turmoil and the wider insecurity affecting the Red Sea and Horn corridor, though Sudan and Djibouti do not appear in the main ranking table excerpt.
Overall, the World Happiness Report stresses that while 79 countries have seen significant gains in life evaluation over the past 15–20 years, 41 have suffered losses – and many of the biggest declines are in states facing war, political crisis or severe economic shocks. For the Horn of Africa, the concentration of countries in the lower ranks signals that improving peace, governance, basic services and social safety nets will be critical not only for material development, but also for how citizens themselves judge their quality of life.
