The UK is the second-most miserable country in the world, a new global well-being index said.
Only Uzbekistan came lower in the rankings, which were published in the US nonprofit Sapien Labs’ Mental State of the World Report earlier this month.
Sapiens Labs said it compiled the list after collecting answers from 500,000 respondents across 71 counties to investigate how people’s “inner state impacts their ability to function within their life context.”
Countries were then given a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) score from -100 to 200. The higher the score, the more satisfied the people.
In 2023, Sapiens Labs said the average score across all the countries was 65.
Britain scored a measly 49, while the US came out with a relatively honorable 72.
The top three countries in the rankings were the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
The UK’s ranking looks even bleaker considering some of the other countries it came below.
Ukraine came in comfortably higher with a score of 60, despite battling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces, while Yemen, which is suffering from “one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises,” also fared better, scoring 59.
But Britain wasn’t the only wealthy Western nation to perform poorly, and the report noted that the pattern suggested that “greater wealth and economic development do not necessarily lead to greater mental wellbeing.”
Sapien Labs said that data from the Global Mind Project, a database of mental health profiles, suggested that some of the key factors influencing this included having a smartphone at a young age, eating highly processed foods, and “fraying” of relationships.
The report also noted that scores had been down across the board since the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was “no sign of movement towards pre-pandemic levels.”
It added that the sharpest drops in mental well-being were in those under the age of 35.
Why are Brits so miserable?
The UK has been experiencing a “cost-of-living crisis” in recent years, with soaring costs for food, bills, and rent.
People’s trust in politicians is also arguably at an all-time low following a series of scandals and the fallout from the polarizing Brexit saga.
But it’s worth noting that the UK doesn’t always shape up so badly in such metrics. The World Happiness Report 2023 suggested the UK was the 19th happiest country in the world.
