These were the happiest and unhappiest countries in the world in 2023

The Mental State of the World report, an annual survey by Sapien Labs, a US-based neuroscience research organisation analysing mental well-being has ranked the top happiest and unhappiest countries in the world in 2023.

The report surveyed over 500,000 people from 71 countries using a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) index to evaluate various aspects of mental health including mood, social self, drive, adaptability, cognition, and mind-body connection.

Across the spectrum of mental wellbeing, 27 percent of respondents were “Distressed” or “Struggling” (MHQ scores of below 0), while 38 percent were “Succeeding” or “Thriving” (MHQ scores above 100).

In the aggregate, Spanish-speaking Latin American countries occupied the top half of the rankings while English-speaking South Asia, Russian-speaking Central Asia and countries of the Core Anglosphere occupied the bottom third.

These were the top happiest and unhappiest countries in the world ranked by MHQ score:

Top 10 happiest countries in the world:

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

Top 10 unhappiest countries in the world:

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

“As seen each year, countries at the top of the list are largely Latin American and African countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, while the 17 wealthier countries of the Core Anglosphere such as the United Kingdom and Australia are towards the bottom,” the report stated.

Only 5 countries moved up the mental well-being scale by 2% or more while 4 moved down by 2% or more.