How happy are Malaysians? On average, their happiness level is a 6.48 out of 10

Malaysians surveyed are happiest about the 'family' part of life, mainly in terms of family relationships (83%) and family safety (76.6%).

Are Malaysians happy?

Putting personal circumstances aside, Malaysians are, linguistically speaking, quite happy.

Numerically, they are 6.48 out 10 happy, after considering the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life in the country. At least, this was what the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) found in its latest Happiness Index Report.

To understand how the aforementioned index was derived, it was measured, between September to November 2021, across 13 components namely 'family', 'housing & environment', 'social participation', 'health', 'communication facilities', 'education', 'working life', 'income', 'public safety', 'use of time', 'religion & spirituality', and 'culture & emotional experience'.

Diving into the numbers, analysts discovered that Malaysians surveyed are happiest about the 'family' part of life, mainly in terms of family relationships (83%) and family safety (76.6%). This translated to an index score of 7.23 out of 10. 'Family' is followed by 'religion & spirituality' (7.21), and 'health' (6.75) - which, regarding the latter, most Malaysians surveyed are 'happy' with in terms of the level of health and supply of medicines supplied by the government.

It is also interesting to note that Malaysians rank their happiness score for 'working life' at 6.31 out of 10, and 'income' at 6.04.

Happiness per state

The happiness index by state/city is topped by Labuan with a score of 9.29 out of 10 at a 'very happy' level.

States and cities such as Kuala Lumpur (7.77), Putrajaya (7.28), Terengganu (7.20), Kelantan (7.02), and Perlis (6.96) are at a 'happy' level. While those in Melaka and Selangor are only feeling 'moderately happy', with respective scores of 5.85 and 5.74.

Looking at Labuan, analysts discovered that all components are at a 'very happy' level, which includes 'use of time' (9.93), 'family' (9.91), 'religion & spirituality' (9.83), 'working life' (9.50), and 'income'. 'Emotional experience' (7.58) for residents in Labuan, however, is a level lower at 'happy'.

As for Kuala Lumpur, components like 'family' (9.08) and 'religion & spirituality' (8.51) take 'very happy' level scores. While components such as 'health' (7.96), 'working life' (7.44), and 'income' (7.09) take 'happy' level scores.

Happiness by gender

The females (6.49) surveyed in Malaysia are slightly happier than the males (6.46).

Analysts also discovered that there are nine out of 13 components that females scored higher than males for happiness. They include 'family' (7.25), 'health' (6.78), and 'income' (6.07). However, regarding 'working life' (6.31), 'public safety' (6.28), and 'emotional experience' (6.16), happiness levels are higher for males than for females.

The 'housing & environment' component (6.39) recorded the same happiness level for both genders.

Happiness by age

For happiness vis-à-vis age, analysts reported that all age groups are at a 'happy' level.

The happiest age group is the 55 to 59-year-olds at 6.51 out of 10; while, Malaysians aged between 20 to 24 are the least happy at 6.42 out of 10.

Read also: 8 ways to boost employee engagement and retention across APAC

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