SINGAPORE, March 22 — Singapore fell five spots to 30th globally but kept its ranking as Asia’s happiest country for the second year running in the World Happiness Report 2024.

The annual United Nations-backed report, released on Wednesday (March 20), also found that Singaporeans aged under 30 ranked lower in terms of happiness when measured against their global peers, compared to adults aged 60 and above here.

The ranking was based on a global poll done by Gallup, a United States-based firm, which asked respondents to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10.

It surveys about 1,000 respondents in each country yearly, with each year’s ranking based on data collected for the three most recent years. For the 2024 report, data from 2021 to 2023 was used.

Singapore had been steadily rising over the past three reports, ranking globally at 32nd in 2021, then 27th in 2022, and 25th last year.

The report noted that the top 10 countries have "remained much the same” since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Finland is still top, with Denmark now very close, and all five Nordic countries in the top 10,” it stated.

However, more changes were notable in the next 10, with some eastern European countries rising in happiness, while the US and Germany fell out of the top 20 to 23rd and 24th respectively.

Happiest in Asia

Topping the global chart of 143 places surveyed in this year’s report was Finland, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel.

Also placed above Singapore were countries in the Asian continent but recognised as part of the Middle Eastern region such as Kuwait (13th), United Arab Emirates (22nd) and Saudi Arabia (28th).

Ranked just above Singapore was Kosovo (29th), while the territory of Taiwan was ranked 31st globally and second place in Asia in this year’s report.

The next highest Asian economies in the ranking were Japan (51st), South Korea (52nd) and the Philippines (53rd).

Malaysia ranked 59th and Indonesia was placed 80th.

Singapore youth less happy

The 2024 report noted that country rankings for the young and the old were "quite different”.

"Countries ranking highest for the old are generally countries with high overall rankings, but include several where the young have recently fared very poorly,” it added.

This year’s report zoomed in on two age groups — the "young” aged 30 and below, and the "old” aged 60 and up.

Among the young, Lithuania, Israel and Serbia took the first, second and third spots respectively. Singapore ranked 54th, just ahead of Spain and a spot below Greece.

Conversely, older adults in Singapore ranked much higher at 26th, just behind France and ahead of Saudi Arabia. Denmark, Finland and Norway were first, second and third for this group.

Previous years’ reports did not give a happiness ranking breakdown by age groups.

Benevolence among the young

The Gallup World Poll, which the happiness report draws on, also tracks three types of benevolent behaviour: Giving donations, volunteering and helping strangers.

The report found that there was an increase in such acts in the post-pandemic years.

"For all three acts, the increases in benevolence, whether measured as shares of the population, or percentage increases from pre-pandemic levels, are greatest for millennials and Gen Z,” the report found.

"(This suggests) that millennials are even more likely than their predecessors to increase their benevolent acts when a new need like Covid arises.”

The report does not give a breakdown of benevolent actions by countries. — TODAY