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Malaysians are the unhappiest they have been since 2013: Report

Malaysians are the unhappiest they have been since 2013, ranking 80th out of 156 countries in the World Happiness Report 2019 which gauged happiness across the period of 2016 to 2018.

This comes after a 45-place drop from 2018's report (on the period of 2015 to 2017) where the country was ranked 35th.

In the reports from previous years, Malaysia was ranked 42nd in the 2017 report, 47th in the 2016 report, 61st in the 2015 report, and 56th in the 2013 report.

Across the straits, Singapore maintained its spot in 34th place this year, while Hong Kong kept consistent at 76th place.

Overall, the top 10 happiest countries in the world as of 2019 were mainly Nordic countries:

#1 Finland #2 Denmark #3 Norway #4 Iceland #5 Netherlands #6 Switzerland #7 Sweden #8 New Zealand #9 Canada #10 Austria

Austria overtook Australia, which previously ranked 10th in 2018.

Within Asia, these were the top 10 happiest countries and their rankings as of 2019:

#25 Taiwan Province of China #34 Singapore #52 Thailand #54 South Korea #58 Japan #60 Kazakhstan #67 Pakistan #69 Philippines #76 Hong Kong SAR, China #80 Malaysia #83 Mongolia

While happiness depends a lot on the individual's intrinsic motivations, everyone can do their part in making one another happy. For instance at the workplace, here are some tips for HR leaders to provide a happy environment for employees to work in.

About the report

The World Happiness Report is a survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. This year's report focused on happiness and the community: how happiness has evolved over the past dozen years, with a focus on the technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes.

Photo / 123RF

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