Malaysia Ranks Among SEA's Happiest Countries & 55th In The World For 2023

Yes, you read that right! According to the World Happiness Report 2023 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Malaysia ranks as the 55th happiest country in the world with a score of 6.012 followed closely behind by Thailand (60th) and China (64th).

This year’s ‘Ranking of Happiness’ ratings were calculated using a three-year average of scores between 2020 and 2022, with a final score computed for each country. The complete index summary can be found here.

In this study, social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption are six important variables that affect happiness. It also explores how happiness differs between nations.

In 2022, Malaysia was ranked 70th out of 149 nations. In contrast, Malaysia was behind several of its ASEAN neighbours in 2021, when it came in at number 81 on the World Happiness Report.

Singapore, however, outperformed us and came in at number 25 this year in terms of happiness based on an evaluation of the average life.

Meanwhile, the Nordic countries are the happiest in the world. Once again, Finland ranks as the world’s happiest country for the sixth year in a row. Finland topped the list with a score of 7.804, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands in descending order. European countries, including Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Luxembourg dominate the rest of the top 10.

Some of the least happy countries in the world include war-torn places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Lebanon, all of which had happiness scores lower than 3.300. Afghanistan took the bottom rank for the unhappiest nation in the world, scoring an average of 1.859.

According to the World Happiness Report for 2023, these are the 30 countries where people are the most content. If you’re looking for a destination to visit on your next trip, maybe you’ll consider one of these nations.