Cairo Magazine - Egyptians "among the happiest people in the world"

Elijah Zarwan

Egyptians are the third happiest people in the world, according to a new survey from a leading market research company.

The study, which questioned 30,000 people in 30 different countries, found that 36 percent of Egyptians consider themselves happy. Only Americans and Australians are happier.

The news that Egyptians are happier than citizens of wealthier countries to the north came as a surprise to many Cairenes.

Agricultural chemist Hamza Ashrey, 48, says this study can’t be true. “Half of the Egyptian people have nothing to eat,” he says. “They have hepatitis, bilharzia, cancer, typhoid—they don’t even have their health. Egyptians make jokes about themselves, about their misery, about problems like unemployment or not having enough money to live. They make jokes like this but that does not mean they are happy.”

Researchers concluded that Egyptians scored higher on the happiness scale than westerners did because intangible factors such as stability and family life determine happiness more than material wealth does. Good health, financial security, home ownership, a happy marriage and children ranked high. Control over life, an interesting job and leisure time also figured high in the list, while luxury cars, nice clothes and gadgets rated low.

Hogwash, says psychologist Alaa Morsi.

“You can’t take a population of 70 million people and survey 1,000 of them; that’s not representative of the population,” he says. “I work as a marriage counselor and I can tell you most people are not happy. The divorce rate is 60 percent and that could go up to 70 percent if I counted domestic violence cases. Happiness in terms of relationships also depends on people’s definition of a good relationship. These are personal things that are hard to apply as general truth.”

Age was also found to have a bearing on happiness, with 25 percent of people between 13 and 19 saying they are “very happy.” Those aged 50-59 were the most unhappy, with only 16 percent saying they are “very happy.”

Happiest people (percentage who said they were "very happy")

1. Australians, 46

2. Americans, 40

3. Egyptians, 36

4. Indians, 34

5. Britons and Canadians, 32

Unhappiest people (percentage who said they were "very unhappy")

1. Hungarians, 35

2. Russians, 30