UK becomes second Most Miserable Nation in the World

A new report reveals a significant impact of the pandemic on global mental wellbeing. The Global Mind Project’s “Mental State of the World” report, which is based on surveys of over 400,000 people in 71 countries, shows a drop in mental health from 2020. Sapien Labs, a nonprofit neuroscience research organisation, started releasing its Global Mind Project every year in 2019.

The study used a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) to evaluate many elements of mental health. Participants are categorised according to their scores, which range from “thriving” to “distressed.”

In the rankings for 2023, the Dominican Republic topped the list with the highest average MHQ (91), followed by Sri Lanka (89) and Tanzania (88). Conversely, Uzbekistan had the lowest average MHQ (48), with the  United Kingdom following closely at 49.

This indicates a 14.3% disparity between the top and bottom ranked countries on the MHQ scale. Overall, English-speaking South Asia, Russian-speaking Central Asia, and nations in the Core Anglosphere ranked in the bottom third, while Spanish-speaking Latin American nations made up the top half of the rankings.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 happiest and unhappiest countries:

Happiest:

1. Dominican Republic
2. Sri Lanka
3. Tanzania
4. Panama
5. Malaysia
6. Nigeria
7. Venezuela
8. El Salvador
9. Costa Rica
10. Uruguay

Unhappiest:

1. Uzbekistan
2. UK
3. South Africa
4. Brazil
5. Tajikistan
6. Australia
7. Egypt
8. Ireland
9. Iraq
10. Yemen