Harvard Study Reveals Indonesia as World's Top Country, Surpassing US and Israel!

Indonesia has achieved the top position in the list of countries with the highest level of psychological flourishing according to the latest research from Harvard University. This accomplishment places Indonesia far above the United States in terms of the development of its population’s quality of life.

The report titled Global Flourishing Study, published through the journal Nature Mental Health, gathered data from 203,000 respondents across 22 countries. The study measures wellbeing through comprehensive indicators, ranging from physical and mental health, happiness, purpose in life, character strengths, social connections, to financial stability and spiritual aspects.

The results show that Indonesia achieved the highest score of 8.3. Following it are Israel (7.87), Mexico (7.64), and Poland (7.55).

Meanwhile, the US is in 12th place. Another developed country, the UK, is in 20th place out of 22 countries.

The researchers state that their findings highlight that money is not everything. Thus, flourishing is not solely related to wealth or physical health alone.

“Flourishing is multidimensional, and different countries flourish in different ways,” the research team writes in their study, quoted from the Daily Mail.

They note that many developed countries score high on financial security. However, on the other hand, they are low in aspects of meaning in life, social relationships, and prosocial character.

Japan was found to be the country with the least flourishing society, with a score of 5.89. Followed by Turkey (6.32), the UK (6.79), India (6.87), and Spain (6.9). Japanese respondents were the least likely to answer ‘yes’ to the question of whether they have close friends.

In contrast, Indonesia excels in social relationships and prosocial aspects, factors that create strong interconnectedness and community.