I felt happy upon reading, on March 11, that Malaysia had been adjudged the fifth happiest nation in the world.
This ranking was done by nonprofit neuroscience research group Sapien Labs after undertaking an ambitious “Mental State of the World” 2023 study.
According to Sapien Labs, the annual Mental State of the World Report under its Global Mind Project provides “trends and insights on the mental wellbeing of internet-enabled populations around the globe”.
It collected data – through an online survey of cognitive and emotional capabilities – from more than 400,000 respondents in 13 languages across 71 countries. It said it also took into account how people navigated the normal stresses of life to function productively.
It said: “This Global Mind project aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of mental wellbeing which is broadly the ability of an individual to handle the normal stresses and adversities of life and contribute productively to society.
“The project therefore does not inform on traditional views of happiness or life satisfaction but rather provides a more comprehensive and economically relevant perspective across the breadth of emotional, social and cognitive capabilities.’
It said the project utilised the Mental Health Quotient, or MHQ which captured perceptions of 47 aspects of mental capability and functioning.
You may not believe it but according to this study, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Panama are the top four happiest countries.
When I came to this part of the report, I paused, as you probably did.
I am so used to seeing the Nordic nations topping lists such as this that I was taken by surprise.
The Sapien’s Lab report said the unhappiest four were the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil and Tajikistan.
Still, I felt good, because I was living in the fifth happiest nation in the world.
Until, that is, I read a report which said another happiness study – by marketing research firm Ipsos – ranked Malaysia eighth out of 30 countries surveyed.
The Netherlands, Mexico, Indonesia and India led the list with Italy, Japan, South Korea and Hungary being the last four, with the latter two jointly at the bottom of the pile.
The press release from Ipsos dated March 21 said: “Malaysia has shown a steady increase in happiness level from 2020 to 2023, and surpassed the global level in 2024, indicating a significant improvement in overall happiness among Malaysians.”
The Ipsos online survey involved 23,269 adults under the age of 75 across 30 countries between Dec 22, 2023 and Jan 5, 2024.
Ipsos public affairs research manager Atticus Poon said Malaysia’s happiness level stood at 77%, higher than the 30-country average of 71%.
Personal relationships, connection to nature and educational attainment were the major contributors to this, he said.
“Malaysians, in particular, derived more satisfaction from their familial relationships, compared with other countries.
“While people around the world found the economic and socio-political situations in their countries as less satisfying, Malaysians generally were more satisfied than the global average,” he added.
Just as I was wondering which study I should give preference to, another happiness study result was released, this time by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in the United Kingdom.
According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, Malaysia was the 59th happiest country in the world, the eighth happiest among Asian countries and the fourth happiest in Southeast Asia.
Malaysia’s ranking dropped from 55 out of 137 countries in 2023 to 59 in the latest report.
Lithuania, Slovenia, UAE, El Salvador, Romania, Estonia, Serbia, Nicaragua, Latvia, Uzbekistan and Paraguay are among the countries that did better than Malaysia.
This study evaluated 143 countries based on social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.
The report used data from surveys conducted between 2021 and 2023 by the US research firm Gallup and information from global organisations like the World Bank and WHO.
The rankings, the study said, relied solely on individuals’ self-assessed life satisfaction.
According to this report, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel were the happiest countries globally – in that order – while Botswana, Malawi, Eswatini and Zambia languished at the bottom.
I want to be happy but I’m afraid I cannot because I’m a little confused.
Why?
Well, one study says I live in the fifth happiest nation in the world; but another says I live in a country that is the eighth happiest (out of 30 countries). Yet another study says I reside in a country that is ranked 59th.
Indubitably, the studies – all of which were released in conjunction with the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness on March 20 – used different yardsticks to measure the level of happiness, yet it is a tad confusing.
If someone were to ask me what the happiness ranking of Malaysia is, I will have to give three different answers and explain the three different studies, by which time neither the person asking nor I will be happy.
But I’m in awe of those who carry out studies on the level of happiness. I admire their audacity to measure what is immeasurable.
And I admire the guts of the UN even more for asking, on its website, “What is the International Day of Happiness?” and proceeding to give this supremely inspiring and highly intellectual answer: “It’s a day to be happy, of course!” - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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