Taiwan has been ranked as the happiest country in Asia, placing 27th worldwide in this year’s World Happiness Report published on Wednesday by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre.
With a happiness score of 6.669 out of 10, Taiwan surpassed other Asian economies, including Singapore (34th), Japan (55th), South Korea (58th), China (68th), Mongolia (77th), and Hong Kong (88th). Taiwan improved four spots from its 31st position in the previous year’s report.
Finland retained its title as the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year, scoring 7.736. Denmark (7.521), Iceland (7.515), Sweden (7.345), and the Netherlands (7.306) rounded out the top five.
The happiness rankings reflect self-reported well-being collected from individuals worldwide between 2022 and 2023. Additional factors influencing scores include GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, personal support networks, perceptions of freedom, generosity, and views on corruption.
The report highlighted the significant role that trust and kindness within communities play in promoting happiness. Researchers pointed to studies indicating people consistently underestimate their communities’ kindness levels, citing data that lost valuables are returned at approximately double the rate most people expect.
“Belief in the kindness of others is much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought,” the report stated.
Lara Aknin, professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University and an editor of the report, emphasized that “Investing in positive social connections and engaging in benevolent actions are both matched by greater happiness.”
