In what may come as a surprise to many, Malaysia has been found to be the fifth happiest country in the world according to a mental health study. Global Mind Project’s fourth “Mental State of the World” report revealed that the top 10 happiest countries in the world are the Dominican Republic, followed by Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Panama, Malaysia, Nigeria, Venezuela, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Uruguay.
Conducted by non-profit neuroscience research organisation Sapien Labs, the study polled 419,175 individuals from 71 countries in an anonymous online survey.
The report also listed the top ten unhappiest countries with Uzbekistan listed first, followed by the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Tajikistan, Australia, Egypt, Ireland, Iraq and Yemen.
The pool sought to determine the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) of each individual. This quotient assesses 47 aspects of mental health, in six categories – mood and outlook, social self, drive and motivation, mind-body connection, cognition, adaptability and resilience.
Information on lifestyle, dynamics with family and friends, and personal trauma, was also collected in the survey.
Based on responses, those who participated in the survey were given a score and placed on a spectrum from thriving to distressed.
Malaysia scored 85%, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year. The report also found that mental well-being remained at its post-pandemic low with yet again no sign of movement towards 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, use of single-use plastics have cumulatively pushed us into a space of poorer mental wellbeing,” said the report.
Sapien Labs also came to the conclusion that the younger generations, especially those under the age of 35, experienced the worst declines in mental well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic while those over 65 stayed relatively resilient.
