World's fittest countries 2024

The only Asian markets in the top 10 were Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Japan has been ranked the fittest country globally, closely followed by Singapore and Switzerland. 

To identify countries that would make it to this list, MagicalNepal.com analysed global health data based on 11 factors that contribute to a person’s overall fitness — from life expectancy and alcohol consumption to disease, death, and smoking rates.

Per the findings, Japan has emerged the healthiest country in the world, with a score of 78.33 out of 100. Not only did it have the highest life expectancy at 84.80, but it also had the lowest share of obese adults (5.63%), and in turn deaths by obesity (3.92%). 

Meanwhile in second place, Singapore scored a total of 77.04. Potentially attributed to tobacco use being heavily regulated, the nation scored lower for deaths by smoking (11%); this could also account for low deaths from respiratory diseases, involving only 10.58 per 100,000 of the population (average across all other nations is 42.5). Singapore also has some of the lowest alcohol consumption, at only 1.87 litres annually; and in terms of life expectancy, the average adult there lives for 82.80 years.

Rounding up the top three, Switzerland also had low levels of adults who are inactive (23.7%), which also potentially correlates with lower levels of obesity (12.5%). Life expectancy in Switzerland stands at 84 years, which is the second highest in the world, only behind Japan.

The only other country from Asia in the top 10 was South Korea, taking the ninth place with a score of 73.02. It had the second lowest share of obese adults (7.24%) and deaths by obesity (5.85%) — right behind Japan. 

Details on the top 10 are as follow:

Making it to the top 40, Thailand ranked 39^th with a score of 68.11:

• Life expectancy: 78.70
• Obese adults: 15.3%
• Insufficient physical activity: 24.6%

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Lead image / 123rf.com; Infographics: MagicalNepal.com