Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Sudan
South Sudan: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 2.82 in 2019. ▼ Falling
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Sudan, 2015–2019
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Sudan recorded 2.82 for happiness vs. life satisfaction in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 26.5% over five years.
That places South Sudan 156th out of 157 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3.83 | — |
| 2016 | 3.59 | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 3.25 | -9.4% |
| 2018 | 2.85 | -12.3% |
| 2019 | 2.82 | -1.3% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 2.82 is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.06, 69% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 2.82 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.38, 64% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Countries ranked near South Sudan
- 153 Malawi 3.28 compare
- 154 Rwanda 3.27 compare
- 155 Sierra Leone 3.25 compare
- 157 Afghanistan 1.45 compare
More social development data for South Sudan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 601,818 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.39 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.1958 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.39 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0494 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Sudan?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in South Sudan was 2.82 in 2019, 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 Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.83 in 2015.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.82 in 2019.
- How does South Sudan rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- South Sudan ranks 156th out of 157 countries with data for 2019.
- Where does this South Sudan 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 — 5 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.