Study: M’sians are the 2nd Happiest People in Southeast Asia & Have 3rd Highest Life Expectancy

Malaysia has consistently been ranked favourably on tourism-related or hospitality-related international rankings. Recently, our country was named the world’s 10th trending travel destination by TripAdvisor, the 2nd friendliest country for foreigners in Asia by Insider Monkey and the world’s 8th best place to retire by International Living.

However, these are all rankings by those from the outside looking in rather than how Malaysians themselves feel. So, how are Malaysians these days and are we happy about our lives and country?

Malaysians are the second happiest people in Southeast Asia

Source: Zukiman Mohamad l Pexels

For illustration purposes

Well, according to a study by CEOWORLD magazine on the happiest countries in the world, the answer is well, we’re doing quite alright for ourselves.

On its latest Global Happiness Ranking which analysed comprehensive polling data from 146 countries for the past 4 years (2020 to 2024), CEOWORLD magazine monitored several performance categories, including:

• GDP per capita
• Social welfare support
• Healthy life expectancy
• Freedom to make your own life choices
• Generosity of the general population
• Perceptions of corruption levels

Source: 123RF

For illustration purposes

Accordingly, Malaysia scored 82.01 out of 100 on the study’s “happiness score”, making us 2nd place in Southeast Asia and 55th globally.

In the rankings as a whole, Finland was named the happiest country in the world with an impressive score of 95.67, followed by Denmark with 95.31. Iceland (92.59), Israel (95.2) and the Netherlands (95.07) make up the rest of the top 5.

Source: Sunway

For illustration purposes

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, Singapore is named the happiest country in the region with a score of 87.74, followed by Malaysia with 82.01, Thailand with 81.26, Vietnam with 80.88 and the Philippines with 77.51.

Here are the full rankings for Southeast Asian countries that were part of the study and their respective scores:

1. Singapore – 87.74 (25th globally)
2. Malaysia – 82.01 (55th globally)
3. Thailand – 81.26 (60th globally)
4. Vietnam – 80.88 (65th globally)
5. The Philippines – 77.51 (76th globally)
6. Indonesia – 75.5 (84th globally)
7. Laos – 73.77 (89th globally)
8. Cambodia -69.45 (115th globally)
9. Myanmar – 68.84 (117th globally)

Malaysians also have the 3rd highest life expectancy in Southeast Asia

Source: The Edge Malaysia

One of the performance categories analysed by CEOWORLD magazine for the above study is life expectancy, and based on data by the United Nations Population Division, Malaysians have one of the highest life expectancy in Southeast Asia.

As shared by Seasia Stats, Malaysia has a life expectancy of 76.58 years, only behind Singapore (84.39 years) and Thailand (80.13 years) in the region.

Source: Australia Institute of International Affairs

Seasia Stats based this on the United Nations Population Division’s data in 2022, with the full rankings in Southeast Asia as follows:

1. Singapore – 84.39 years
2. Thailand – 80.13 years
3. Malaysia – 76.58 years
4. Vietnam – 74.90 years
5. Brunei – 74.61 years
6. The Philippines – 72.40 years
7. Cambodia – 71.60 years
8. Indonesia – 71.24 years
9. Timor-Leste – 69.56 years
10. Laos – 69.54 years
11. Myanmar – 67.66 years

So, what do you guys think of Malaysia’s placement in both studies? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: KL Named City With Most Skyscrapers in Southeast Asia, Has 76 More Than 2nd Place Jakarta