The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad - Somalia's Rankings in Global Indices of Human Flourishing and Happiness (The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad_933)

Somalia ranks as one of the worst countries in the world for human flourishing and happiness, according to a variety of global indices, which are well-established, rigorous methodologies on human flourishing, and happiness. In this episode, Ghat Saad continues her analysis of Somalia's dismal human development and human rights record.

00:00:00.000 Hi everybody, this is Ghat Saad, continuing my analysis of Somalia, given the recent comments by Donald Trump, which upset many people.

00:00:15.640 You might remember that I posted a sad truth clip, wherein I highlighted how Somalia scores on the Corruptions Perception Index over the past 20 years, 0.93

00:00:35.320 and they scored 180th out of approximately 180 countries that had been evaluated using, you know, very, very thorough methodology.

00:00:50.900 I already discussed this in a previous, so 180th out of 180.

00:00:54.260 Then, in a subsequent clip, I shared data from two freedom indices, global freedom indices.

00:01:05.140 One, you know, human freedom, you know, a general measure of freedom, and then the other one was, you know, press freedom.

00:01:18.140 And they scored pretty much at the bottom of both, around the world.

00:01:22.580 And then, I shared other data on female genital mutilation that showed that women, I think if I remember correctly,

00:01:30.940 the age of 15 to 49, 99% of women had gotten female genital mutilation, which includes cutting off the clitorises, infubilation, 1.00

00:01:41.260 and all sorts of other pretty, pretty rough female genital mutilation, 99%. 1.00

00:01:48.940 Today, what I'd like to do is share some more.

00:01:53.880 So, this is why this is called Somalia's Ranking in Global Indices of Human Flourishing and Happiness.

00:01:58.780 I asked Grok to list how does Somalia rank on various global indices.

00:02:09.580 These are all well-established global indices, rigorous methodologies on human flourishing and happiness.

00:02:16.280 So, that's, here we go.

00:02:18.320 So, the World Happiness Report, which ranks, measures, you know, self-reported life satisfaction.

00:02:26.580 Somalia ranked 130th out of 143.

00:02:31.200 The Human Development Index, which is a composite of life expectancy, education, and income.

00:02:38.100 In the Global Peace Index, which assesses safety, conflict, and militarization, it ranked 160th out of 163 countries.

00:02:56.920 In the Global Hunger Index, tracks undernourishment, child stunting, and mortality.

00:03:05.060 Of course, this is tragic data.

00:03:07.840 It ranked 123rd out of 123 countries.

00:03:12.480 And the data that I'm sharing with you here are, you know, from years roughly 2023 to 2025, depending on the index that we're talking about.

00:03:24.080 In the Gender Inequality Index, these are all, you know, the latest indices available, which measures reproductive health, empowerment, and labor gaps.

00:03:35.140 Somalia ranks 177th out of 178.

00:03:39.500 In the Fragile States Index, which measures, it evaluates vulnerability to conflict and collapse.

00:03:46.480 It is the single most fragile country out of 179 countries.

00:03:53.400 In the Social Progress Index, which covers basic needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity, it ranks 169th out of 169 countries ranked.

00:04:05.940 In the Legatum Prosperity Index, which is a holistic measure of prosperity, including economy, health, and governance, it ranks 163rd out of 167 countries.

00:04:19.600 And in the Happiness Planet Index, this one is from 2021, which is an index that measures, balances, well-being, life expectancy, and ecological footprint.

00:04:31.940 It ranks 140th out of 151 countries.

00:04:39.160 So, now, am I sharing this information because I have a desire to just criticize a single country out of the blue for no reason?

00:04:52.340 No.

00:04:53.160 I share this information because there's a general lesson to be learned here.

00:04:56.860 Rather than have all the progressives go up in arms because, you know, Donald Trump is Hitler and he is marginalizing Somalis and he's this, wouldn't it make more sense to say, hey, while the manner by which he expressed that sentiment might have been less than, you know, perfect presidential decorum, is there any empirical validity to what he's saying?

00:05:24.940 And I've now spent several episodes sharing an endless amount of global data, utilizing many global indices, spanning a huge amount of indicators that suggest that you almost can't think of a country doing worse than Somalia.

00:05:50.680 And so, it is perfectly understandable that Somali people would want to have a better future and would want to move to countries where they could be safer, where they can flourish, where they could live the dream that many other immigrants have lived.

00:06:15.600 But then in that case, would it be too much to ask as a minimal measure of reciprocity that you assimilate within the host society, respect the host society, place the host society's ideals above your tribal allegiances?

00:06:37.560 I am first a defender of truth and freedom as an individual, then I am Lebanese, then I am Jewish, then I am Canadian.

00:06:50.100 My most important cherished values are those that are universal ones of liberty, freedom and truth.

00:07:01.660 So, perhaps what our Somali neighbors can do is say, thank God that I was able to escape Somalia so that I can give my children a better life and I will forevermore do all that I can to honor the society that has so generously accepted me in.

00:07:25.340 And perhaps I shouldn't be engaging in behaviors that result in the disappearance of $1 billion of taxpayer funds.

00:07:40.020 Take care, everybody.

The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad - December 09, 2025

Somalia's Rankings in Global Indices of Human Flourishing and Happiness (The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad_933)

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