Could it be that Nigeria is not in the this list due to unavailability of data?
It's hard to get by when you don't have a job and the cost of living keeps rising. This is the maxim behind economist Arthur Okun's "Misery Index," which adds together a country's unemployment and inflation rates. The higher the number, the more "miserable" your country.
There has been criticism of the index. Extensive studies have shown that unemployment influences happiness (or, rather, unhappiness) significantly more than inflation. Still, few would argue that both unemployment and inflation are bad when they are very high.
In light of that, Business Insider compiled a list of the 18 most miserable countries based on 2014 data available at the CIA World Factbook. Some countries struggle with both high unemployment and inflation, while others have one rate asymmetrically higher than the other.
Some countries are absent from the list because data was either unavailable or outdated.
At number one position is Venevuela
Misery-index score: 70
CPI inflation: 62.2%
Unemployment: 7.8%
"Venezuela seems to be going from worse to worse," RBC Capital Markets' Helima Croft previously wrote.
The plunging oil prices in late 2014, combined with a recession, crushed the Venezuelan economy. Inflation is out of control to the point that an iPhone 6 costs nearly $47,700 right now. The country is looking for allies outside of OPEC in hopes of stabilizing its oil prices.
Source: CIA Factbook, Bloomberg News via MSN News. Read Full List Here
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