149

The number 149 is according to the World Happiness Report 2018 the rank of happiness for Liberians out of a total of 163 countries surveyed. The country at the top of the list is Finland. In fact, most of the Nordic countries are at the top. China ranks 60th and the US is 18th.

Let's examine this more closely as to the reasons why and what can be done about this ranking for Liberia. Yei Kaalu is committed to improving the overall ranking of Liberia for this list and others mentioned below. We want Liberians to be happy. In fact, there are a number of indices we would like to help Liberia leapfrog to the top or near the top per the following indices. They are as follows: The Human Development Index, The Global Peace Index, Global Hunger Index, Press Freedom Index, Global Innovation Index, Ease of Doing Business Index, Corruption Index, Environmental Performance Index, Good Country Index, Global Gender Gap Index, Multidimensional Poverty Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Freedom in the World Index, Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, Democracy Index, Education Index, (See HDI chart below or click on link) Worldwide Governance Indicators and much more. In all of these Liberia ranks toward the bottom or in the last quartile.

I have listed all of the indices as both reference points and as goals so that Yei Kaalu may help Liberia strive toward improving ranks and status. The reality, however, is that Liberia may never reach improved status in many of them. Miracles do happen! My theory is this: It is not impossible for Liberia to leapfrog countries currently at the top in most of these indices. How? By targeting just a few of the above indices I believe other indices will automatically improve i.e., improving the Gender Gap index along with the Ease of Doing Business and Health Indices may very positively impact the Travel and Tourism, Education, Corruption and Hunger Indices followed by the Multidimensional Poverty, Democracy and Economic Freedom Indices etc. They are all interconnected. Yei Kaalu believes that by going granular into the everyday aspects of these dynamic living indices can we truly appreciate the scale and voracity of what we are dealing with in reality. Japan did it during the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800's. China (formally known as the "Sick Man of Asia") did it and is continuing to do it today in less than 50 years as it is now the 2nd largest economy in the world with a middle class of over 300 million people.

Liberia not only needs the political will, but also, the social will to accomplish this desired and necessary goal to accomplish said task. In his book The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave Community Behind, by distinguished University of Chicago professor, former IMF chief economist and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (2013 - 2016), Raghuram Rajan states, "...a way to rethink the relationship between the market and civil society argues for a return to strengthening and empowering local communities as an antidote to growing despair and unrest."

Liberia is in a perfect place and time to either leap forward; or continue the status quo of being 149 instead of being #1 on any and all of the above indices. It can and should and will be done!!!!