Sri Lanka Ranks as the 2nd Least Miserable Country in the World
The Mental State of the World Report by Sapien Labs examines mental well-being across 71 countries, incorporating 47 elements related to mental feelings and functions. According to the report, Sri Lanka's Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) ranks just after the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, the United Kingdom is identified as having the second highest level of mental struggle among the surveyed populations, following Uzbekistan. This comprehensive analysis provides insight into global mental health trends, highlighting the varying degrees of mental health challenges faced by different countries.
The Mental State of the World report is the annual report of the Global Mind Project, an ongoing, comprehensive survey of the mental wellbeing of the Internet-enabled world. The objective of the Global Mind Project is to provide an evolving global map of mental wellbeing and enable deep insights into its drivers that can be used for more effective management of population mental wellbeing through evidence-based social policy and interventions.
2023 was the 4th year of the project and consolidates responses from over 500,000 individuals collected during the year across 71 countries spanning 9 geographic regions and 13 languages [English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), German, Swahili, Hindi, Italian, Russian, Hebrew and (Simplified) Chinese].
Countries and regions that form part of the 2023 report
The 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. To this end, the project utilizes the Mental Health Quotient, or MHQ3,4, which captures perceptions of 47 aspects of mental capability and functioning on a life impact scale.
According to the 2023 MHQ (Mental Health Quotient) scores, which provide a weighted average across different age and sex groups to reflect a country's population composition, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania lead the global rankings with MHQ scores of 88 or higher. Conversely, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Russian-speaking population of Uzbekistan are positioned at the lower end of the spectrum, with MHQ scores ranging between 48 and 53.
