21-3-2024 (SINGAPORE) Singapore has once again secured its position as the happiest country in Asia, retaining the title for the second year running, as revealed by the recently unveiled World Happiness Report 2024. While globally ranked 30th among 143 surveyed nations, Singapore stands as the foremost beacon of happiness in Asia, outshining neighbouring countries like Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, the latter securing the seventh position in Asia and 58th globally.
Published annually since 2012, the World Happiness Report serves as a pivotal assessment of global happiness levels, aiming to bolster the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by offering a holistic measure of well-being beyond conventional economic metrics such as GDP. The insights of the 2024 edition stem from data collected through the Gallup World Poll and are meticulously analysed by a team spearheaded by the University of Oxford.
The report’s methodology evaluates happiness across six key parameters: GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, personal freedom, generosity, and corruption levels. Singapore’s notable standing can be attributed to its robust GDP per capita, one of the highest worldwide, which signifies a transparent governance system and diminished levels of corruption even compared to countries like Denmark or Norway, which rank higher overall.
Chun Wang, a contributor to the report, lauded Singapore’s performance in an interview with CNBC, accentuating the city-state’s remarkable life expectancy and quality of life metrics. Nevertheless, Singapore received relatively lower ratings in aspects like social support, personal freedom, and generosity.
Conversely, countries in Asia lagging behind in the report’s rankings include Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Quality of life is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 representing the highest possible standard of living, as reported by Sanook.
Finland maintains its lead in the global happiness standings with a score of 7.7, closely followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. At the bottom of the roster are Afghanistan and Lebanon, scoring 1.7 and 2.7, respectively. Thailand secures the 58th position worldwide, garnering a score of 5.9.
