A survey has found that the poorest people in Kenya are living happier lives than the richest.
Conducted by Twaweza East Africa, the Sauti ya Wananchi survey on citizen values found that 73% of Kenya’s poorest are happy, whilst 72% of Kenya’s richest said they were of the same.
Overall, seven in 10 citizens (71%) say that all things considered, they are happy with their life in Kenya. Whereas one in 20 (5%) say they are unhappy, and one in four (24%) say that they are neither happy nor unhappy.
The survey also returned other interesting results, showing that one in six Kenyans (16.7%) think it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife, and that nine in 10 citizens have a problem with homosexuals and would mind if they lived next to them.
Further results showed that 11% of women do not have a problem with being hit by their husbands, saying that it is justifiable – according to Standard Media.
The survey also found that 87% of Kenyans would have an issue with living next to drug addicts, and 70% would not be happy living next to people who consume large amounts of alcohol.
UNICEF states that of Kenya’s population of 44 million, 42% live below the poverty line. Many basics such as health care, education, clean water and sanitation are often considered luxuries for many people.
There are estimated 19.15 million children in Kenya, and the under-five mortality rate is 74/1000 live births.
Much has been discussed by experts over the years on why the richer populations are often unhappy, in surveys “the respondents turn out to be a generally dissatisfied lot, whose money has contributed to deep anxieties involving love, work, and family. Indeed, they are frequently dissatisfied even with their sizable fortunes. Most of them still do not consider themselves financially secure; for that, they say, they would require on average one-quarter more wealth than they currently possess,” The Atlantic states.
The report has not yet disclosed how it has categorised those as poorest or richest.
