WHATEVER YOUR opinion about pleasure, status or leisure as a substitute for true happiness, the reality is that billions of rands change hands every year as we all search for ways to brighten our lives. From face lifts to wine estates, shopping safaris to beach holidays, all are activities generating millions of rand in turnover and thousands of jobs for the domestic economy. Yet these account for just a fraction of South Africa’s trade in happiness.

We also import a wide array of happiness products, from self-help DVDs to erectile dysfunction drugs. Our happiness black market, from the sex trade to recreational drugs, is also booming. And when happiness still eludes us, we turn to counsellors and psychoanalysts to talk our way out of despair. A look at a few of the industries in our happiness economy shows that happiness is big business in South Africa.