Two African nations top the list of the world’s most stressed countries. See who else fares poorly
How did you feel yesterday? Did you feel physical pain? Did you experience enjoyment? Worry? Anger? What about stress?
These are the questions put to 145,000 people across 144 countries and areas to create Gallup’s State of the World’s Emotional Health report.
The report uses a number of indexes to measures life’s intangibles (i.e. feelings and emotions) that traditional economic indicators such as GDP were never intended to capture.
The latest findings, based on 2024 data, conclude that the world is on an emotional edge. A whopping 39% of adults worldwide reported worrying for much of the previous day, and more than a third said they felt stressed. Compared with a decade ago, hundreds of millions more people now experience these emotions.
World’s most stressed countries
Based on the latest data, the most stressed country in the world is Rwanda, tied with Sierra Leone with 64% of their polled residents answering yes to ‘Did you experience stress during a lot of the day yesterday?’ and 36% answering no.
The five most stressed countries:
- Rwanda (64%)
- Sierra Leone (64%)
- Cyprus (60%)
- Egypt (58%)
- Greece (57%)
World’s least stressed countries
The world’s least stressed country is Kyrgyzstan with just 9% of their polled residents answering yes to ‘Did you experience stress during a lot of the day yesterday?’ and 91% answering no.
Azerbaijan had an equivalent 9% of adults answering yes but a slightly lower percentage of 89% saying no. The remainder either didn’t know or refused to answer.
The five least stressed countries:
- Kyrgyzstan (9%)
- Azerbaijan (9%)
- Kazakhstan (10%)
- Vietnam (13%)
- Uzbekistan (14%)
Most stressed countries: complete ranking
The table below shows the percentage of adults who answered yes when asked, ‘Did you experience stress during a lot of the day yesterday?’
The results are based on telephone and in-person interviews with nationally representative, probability-based samples among the adult population aged 15 and older in 144 countries and areas in 2024.
Note: Some countries and territories have been excluded due to insufficient sample sizes.
| Rank | Country | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rwanda | 64% |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 64% |
| 3 | Cyprus | 60% |
| 4 | Egypt | 58% |
| 5 | Greece | 57% |
| 6 | Iraq | 57% |
| 7 | Northern Cyprus | 57% |
| 8 | Türkiye | 57% |
| 9 | Chad | 56% |
| 10 | Lebanon | 56% |
| 11 | Liberia | 55% |
| 12 | Sri Lanka | 55% |
| 13 | Albania | 54% |
| 14 | Canada | 54% |
| 15 | Ecuador | 54% |
| 16 | Jordan | 54% |
| 17 | Venezuela | 54% |
| 18 | Madagascar | 53% |
| 19 | El Salvador | 52% |
| 20 | Malta | 52% |
| 21 | Tanzania | 52% |
| 22 | Peru | 51% |
| 23 | Australia | 50% |
| 24 | Philippines | 50% |
| 25 | Uganda | 50% |
| 26 | Bolivia | 49% |
| 27 | Iran | 49% |
| 28 | Niger | 48% |
| 29 | Senegal | 48% |
| 30 | United States of America | 48% |
| 31 | Dominican Republic | 47% |
| 32 | Nicaragua | 47% |
| 33 | Nigeria | 47% |
| 34 | Burkina Faso | 46% |
| 35 | Ghana | 46% |
| 36 | Guatemala | 46% |
| 37 | Tunisia | 46% |
| 38 | Comoros | 45% |
| 39 | Costa Rica | 45% |
| 40 | Kuwait | 45% |
| 41 | Morocco | 45% |
| 42 | Trinidad & Tobago | 45% |
| 43 | Brazil | 44% |
| 44 | Eswatini | 44% |
| 45 | Guinea | 43% |
| 46 | Italy | 43% |
| 47 | Portugal | 43% |
| 48 | Zambia | 43% |
| 49 | Cameroon | 42% |
| 50 | China | 42% |
| 51 | Cambodia | 41% |
| 52 | State of Palestine | 41% |
| 53 | Myanmar | 40% |
| 54 | Singapore | 40% |
| 55 | Uruguay | 40% |
| 56 | Algeria | 39% |
| 57 | Argentina | 39% |
| 58 | Honduras | 39% |
| 59 | New Zealand | 39% |
| 60 | South Korea | 39% |
| 61 | Belgium | 38% |
| 62 | Chile | 38% |
| 63 | Hong Kong, S.A.R. of China | 38% |
| 64 | Iceland | 38% |
| 65 | Ireland | 38% |
| 66 | Mexico | 38% |
| 67 | Spain | 38% |
| 68 | Taiwan, Province of China | 38% |
| 69 | Togo | 38% |
| 70 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 38% |
| 71 | Colombia | 37% |
| 72 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 37% |
| 73 | Norway | 37% |
| 74 | Republic of the Congo | 37% |
| 75 | Benin | 36% |
| 76 | Czech Republic | 36% |
| 77 | Gabon | 36% |
| 78 | Germany | 36% |
| 79 | Mauritania | 36% |
| 80 | Romania | 36% |
| 81 | Ethiopia | 35% |
| 82 | France | 35% |
| 83 | Mozambique | 35% |
| 84 | Panama | 35% |
| 85 | South Africa | 35% |
| 86 | Bangladesh | 34% |
| 87 | Cote d’Ivoire | 34% |
| 88 | Israel | 34% |
| 89 | Mali | 34% |
| 90 | Nepal | 34% |
| 91 | Zimbabwe | 34% |
| 92 | Austria | 33% |
| 93 | Bahrain | 33% |
| 94 | Botswana | 33% |
| 95 | Hungary | 33% |
| 96 | Japan | 33% |
| 97 | Lesotho | 33% |
| 98 | Libya | 33% |
| 99 | Ukraine | 33% |
| 100 | Finland | 32% |
| 101 | Kenya | 32% |
| 102 | Malawi | 32% |
| 103 | Paraguay | 32% |
| 104 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 31% |
| 105 | Latvia | 31% |
| 106 | Oman | 31% |
| 107 | Pakistan | 31% |
| 108 | Slovenia | 31% |
| 109 | Armenia | 30% |
| 110 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 30% |
| 111 | North Macedonia | 30% |
| 112 | United Arab Emirates | 30% |
| 113 | Belize | 29% |
| 114 | Slovakia | 29% |
| 115 | Switzerland | 29% |
| 116 | Thailand | 29% |
| 117 | Estonia | 28% |
| 118 | Bulgaria | 27% |
| 119 | India | 27% |
| 120 | Saudi Arabia | 27% |
| 121 | Croatia | 26% |
| 122 | Gambia | 26% |
| 123 | Moldova, Republic of | 26% |
| 124 | Sweden | 25% |
| 125 | Namibia | 23% |
| 126 | Serbia | 23% |
| 127 | Tajikistan | 23% |
| 128 | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 22% |
| 129 | Malaysia | 22% |
| 130 | Denmark | 20% |
| 131 | Kosovo | 20% |
| 132 | Lithuania | 20% |
| 133 | Mauritius | 20% |
| 134 | Russian Federation | 20% |
| 135 | Montenegro | 18% |
| 136 | Georgia | 17% |
| 137 | Poland | 16% |
| 138 | Indonesia | 15% |
| 139 | Mongolia | 15% |
| 140 | Uzbekistan | 14% |
| 141 | Vietnam | 13% |
| 142 | Kazakhstan | 10% |
| 143 | Azerbaijan | 9% |
| 144 | Kyrgyzstan | 9% |
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