Subjective welfare is an increasingly important topic for empirical literature. Several factors (psychological, socio-demographic and economic) are proposed to explain subjective welfare. Until now, research on subjective welfare has primarily focused on developed countries. Very little research has been done on the links between institutional factors and the perception of welfare by society. The intention of this article is to assess the applicability to the poorest countries of "stylized facts" collected in developed countries. Without minimizing the importance of other factors, the article pays particular attention to the impact of governance and institutions (economic and political) on subjective welfare. It uses data from thematic modules in 1-2-3 surveys, a large body of household surveys providing comparative data from eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although exploratory, the analysis highlights three types of results. First, despite specific characteristics, such as the positive impact on welfare of the widespread availability of employment in the informal sector, the data show that the impact of traditional variables (e.g. income and education) is also important in African countries. Secondly, the article identifies different ways for institutions to exert their influence. In addition, the quality of public services is examined in terms of income, education, employment, security, etc. Finally, the analysis brings to light a paradoxical finding: the level of trust in the parliament is negatively correlated with the level of welfare. This finding, which is particularly significant in the poorest quartiles, could explain the higher expectations of the poorest from the democratic apparatus, despite its dysfunctionality.