Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa
South Africa: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 5.01 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa is 5.01, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.9% on the previous year and up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa peaked at 5.42 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 4.46, in 2015.
South Africa ranks 103rd of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.78 | 4.46 | 5.1 | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.18 | 4.96 | 5.42 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.87 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.857 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.633 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.47 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.857 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Africa was 5.01 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.42 in 2023.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.46 in 2015.
- How does South Africa rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- South Africa ranks 103rd out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is happiness vs. life satisfaction rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Happiness vs. life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.