University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center placed the Philippines as the 53rd happiest country in the world and second in comparison to its Southeast Asian neighbors. From the 143 assessed states, the Philippines’ standing improved by 23 places, moving up from its previous 76th distinction out of 137 nations.
YouTube: World Happiness Report
The Philippines’ 53rd-ranked feat draws similarities from the institution’s 2020 report (52nd), which included data before the COVID-19 pandemic. 2024’s report sees Singapore at the top of the region in 30th, with Vietnam (54th), Thailand (58th), Malaysia (59th), Indonesia (80th), Laos (94th), Myanmar (118th) and Cambodia (119th) trailing behind the Philippines.
Finland topped the charts for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Australia to complete the roster’s top 10.
According to the report, anonymous respondents were asked to evaluate their current lifestyle conditions on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the highest. Apart from self-assessments, the ranking utilized Gallup World Poll’s 2021 to 2023 data, in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, looking into “GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.”
“Negative emotions are more frequent than in 2006-2010 everywhere except East Asia and both parts of Europe. In Central and Eastern Europe, in contrast to the rest of the world, but consistently with the happiness convergence taking place within Europe, negative emotions are now less frequent in all age groups than they were in 2006-2010,” the report reads.
