Malaysia Ranks As 5th Happiest Country In The World In Recent Mental Health Report
The report surveyed over 400,000 people from 71 countries.
By Aqasha Nur’aiman — 11 Mar 2024, 02:39 PM
Malaysia was recently ranked as the fifth happiest country in the world in the Global Mind Project's "Mental State of the World" report
According to the New Straits Times, the report, which surveyed over 400,000 people from 71 countries, was conducted by American nonprofit neuroscience research organisation, Sapien Labs.
The study utilised a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) to evaluate different aspects of participants' mental health, categorising them based on their scores, which ranged from "thriving" to "distressed".
Overall, Malaysia scored 85%, seeing an increase of 2.9% from 2022.
Based on the study, here are the top five happiest and unhappiest countries:
Happiest:
1. Dominican Republic
2. Sri Lanka
3. Tanzania
4. Panama
5. Malaysia
Unhappiest:
1. Uzbekistan
2. UK
3. South Africa
4. Brazil
5. Tajikistan
The report also revealed that mental wellbeing remained at its post-pandemic low, with no indication of returning to pre-pandemic levels
"In 2023, at both a global level and at the level of individual countries, MHQ scores remained largely unchanged relative to 2021 and 2022, after a sharp drop during the pandemic years.
"This raises important questions about the lasting impact of the pandemic, and how shifts in the way we live and work and the amplification of existing habits like remote working, online communication, consumption of ultra-processed food, and use of single-use plastics have cumulatively pushed us into a space of poorer mental wellbeing," said the organisation.
Sapien Labs concluded that younger generations, particularly those under the age of 35, experienced the most significant declines in mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, while those over 65 remained relatively stable.
Did you know that a recent study ranked Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as the eighth worst airport in Asia?
