Sri Lanka Ranks as the 2nd Least Miserable Country in the World (2024)

World Index

19 March, 2024 | 18:03 p.m.

Staff Writer

2023 was the 4th year of the project and consolidates responses from over 500,000 individuals collected during the year across 71 countries spanning 9 geographic regions and 13 languages [English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), German, Swahili, Hindi, Italian, Russian, Hebrew and (Simplified) Chinese].

The Global Mind project aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of mental wellbeing which is broadly the ability of an individual to handle the normal stresses and adversities of life and contribute productively to society. The project therefore does not inform on traditional views of happiness or life satisfaction but rather provides a more comprehensive and economically relevant perspective across the breadth of emotional, social and cognitive capabilities. To this end, the project utilizes the Mental Health Quotient, or MHQ3,4, which captures perceptions of 47 aspects of mental capability and functioning on a life impact scale.

According to the 2023 MHQ (Mental Health Quotient) scores, which provide a weighted average across different age and sex groups to reflect a country's population composition, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania lead the global rankings with MHQ scores of 88 or higher. Conversely, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Russian-speaking population of Uzbekistan are positioned at the lower end of the spectrum, with MHQ scores ranging between 48 and 53.

While the pattern of distress and struggle among respondents aligns closely with the average MHQ scores across countries, notable differences emerge in the specifics. Sri Lanka is identified as the country with the least number of people feeling distressed or struggling (14%), Following closely, Italy, Georgia, and Nigeria also showcase low percentages of distressed or struggling respondents, ranging from 14% to 17%. On the contrary, Brazil, South Africa, and the United Kingdom report the highest proportions of individuals facing these mental health challenges, with their figures spanning from 34% to 35%.

In 2023, the Global Mind Project's MHQ assessment saw participation from 518,064 respondents worldwide, collecting data from January 1 to December 31. The approach to gathering this data involved targeting a wide demographic through digital advertisem*nts, primarily on platforms like Facebook and Google AdSense. These ads, featuring the prompt "Get your mental wellbeing score: Fast, Free, Anonymous" alongside a start button for the survey, were tailored to reach various age-sex groups between 18 and 85 years old. This targeting utilized a broad range of interest keywords, optimized for maximum engagement and inclusivity.

According to the survey finding developing countries frequently ranked higher in mental well-being compared to their developed counterparts. Noticeably absent from the research were countries typically ranked high in the global happiness index, such as those in Scandinavia. The methodology used in the research to recruit participants was targeted online advertisem*nts, which may have significantly affected these findings as well. This is particularly relevant in developing countries, where a segment of the population less familiar with the internet might not be captured in the survey. Such individuals, who may face more significant challenges, remain underrepresented, underscoring a limitation in the survey's ability to accurately portray the global state of mental well-being.

Full report: Mental State of the World 2023