Looks like Malaysians from the East Coast have cracked the code to happiness.
According to the latest Malaysian Happiness Index (MHI) 2024, Terengganu residents are officially the happiest people in Malaysia, leaving big cities like KL and Penang trailing behind.
And that’s not all, women in Malaysia are reportedly happier than men, too.
Malaysia are generally “happy”
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) revealed that the country scored 7.60 out of 10 in the latest MHI, officially placing Malaysians in the “happy” category.
Built on the Malaysian Happiness Survey, the index measures happiness levels through four main dimensions: physical, social, emotional, and spiritual.
With 94 indicators grouped into 13 happiness components, DOSM described the index as a comprehensive tool to gauge the well-being and quality of life among Malaysians.
Terengganu leads, big cities trail behind
Terengganu clinched the top spot with an impressive 8.64 score, followed by Johor (8.08) and Negeri Sembilan (8.01), all falling into the “very happy” category.
On the flip side, urban areas like Labuan (7.00), Penang (7.19), Selangor (7.21), and Kuala Lumpur (7.22) recorded the lowest scores, suggesting city life might not be as cheerful as we think.
In fact, DOSM noted that 36 districts nationwide achieved “very happy” scores ranging between 8.02 and 9.83.
Women & teens lead happiness rankings
The findings also revealed that religion and spirituality (8.69), along with family ties (8.64) played the biggest roles in boosting happiness levels.
Interestingly, women scored slightly higher (7.62) than men (7.57), while the 15–19 age group emerged as the happiest demographic with a score of 7.79.
Are you one of the happier folks?
Check out the stats here.
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