Vietnamese are 6th happiest people in Asia: report

Released on March 20, the International Day of Happiness, the report surveyed people from 143 countries and territories, ranking their happiness based on a three-year average of each population's assessment of their quality of life, from 2021 to 2023.

Interdisciplinary experts from the fields of economics, psychology, sociology and beyond then explained the variations across countries and over time using six factors: GDP, life expectancy, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

The data gathered for the factors came from organizations like the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Gallup World Poll.

"These factors help to explain the differences across nations, while the rankings themselves are based only on the answers people give when asked to rate their own lives," according to a statement by the World Happiness Report.

Vietnam ranked 75th out of 158 economies in 2015, and 65th out of 137 last year.

Singapore is the happiest place in Asia for the second year in a row, ranking 30th.

The city-state is followed by Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines in Asia, where Vietnam ranked sixth, followed by Thailand, Malaysia and China.

Globally, Finland tops the overall list for the seventh successive year, followed by Denmark and Iceland. The top three remains unchanged from last year.

For the first time, the report presents distinct rankings by age group, which often show significant differences from the general standings.

Lithuania leads for individuals under 30, whereas Denmark ranks as the happiest country for those aged 60 and above.

The report indicates that individuals born before 1965 generally report higher happiness levels compared to those born after 1980.

For millennials, there's a noticeable decline in life satisfaction with each advancing year, whereas for boomers, satisfaction tends to grow with age.

The research highlights that worldwide, adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 experience greater life satisfaction compared to older generations, although this disparity is closing in Europe and has recently flipped in North America.

Additionally, the study points out a decline in the wellbeing of 15- to 24-year-olds in regions like North America, Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia since 2019, while noting improvements in other parts of the world.

Afghanistan remains the least happy nation. Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Congo also ranked at the bottom.