No change in happiness: Singapore stands out in latest global report

SINGAPORE: According to the Ipsos Happiness Report 2026, happiness levels rose across the board in the Asian nations included in the study, with the exception of Singapore. The report looked into happiness levels in a number of countries and showed that in 25 of the 29 countries surveyed, people are happier than they were 12 months ago.

However, as fieldwork for the report took place between December 24, 2025, and January 9, 2026, it’s important to note that it does not take into account the widening conflict in the Middle East, which has sparked fears of a possible global recession due to disruptions in the oil supply.

The happiest country surveyed is Indonesia, where 85 per cent of the people surveyed reported being happier over the past year. The Netherlands is the runner-up, where 84 per cent said they were happy.

The bottom two on the list are South Korea, where 57 per cent say they are happy, and Hungary, where the figure is even lower at 54 per cent.

As for Singapore, the city-state is somewhere in the middle, as 73 per cent report feeling happy. This puts it at slightly below the global average of 74 per cent.

Notably, however, among the Southeast Asian countries that took part in the survey, only Singapore reported no change in happiness levels. Indonesia saw the biggest change, from 79 to 85 per cent, followed by Malaysia, where happiness levels grew from 76 to 81 per cent. In Thailand, happiness levels rose from 78 to 81 per cent. Singapore remained unchanged, meanwhile, at 73 per cent.

Moreover, in Indonesia, 43 per cent of those surveyed said they were very happy, and an equal number said they were rather happy. Singapore shows a much sharper divide, however. Only 11 per cent of the Singaporeans surveyed said they were very happy, while 62 per cent reported themselves as rather happy.

Singapore is also the only country where happiness levels stayed the same over the past year. In 25 of the 29 countries, happiness levels went up, and in three countries, the Netherlands, India, and Argentina, people said they were less happy over the past year.

Even in Japan and South Korea, the level of happiness, though lower than Singapore’s and the global average, went up. For Japan, the increase was from 60 to 63 per cent, and for South Korea, it was from 50 to 57 per cent.

The report showed that feeling appreciated (37 per cent) and family relationships (36 per cent) are the factors that affect happiness the most. On the other end of the scale, a person’s financial situation is reported to be the number one cause of what makes people unhappy (57 per cent). /TISG

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