Hong Kong youths more miserable than most Asian peers, says survey

Hong Kong youths more miserable than most Asian peers, says survey

Hong Kong (ANTARA News) - Almost four out of 10 young people in Hong Kong are unhappy, making them some of the most miserable in Asia, a survey published Thursday claimed.

The survey claimed that only 63 per cent of Hong Kong youngsters were happy, putting the former British colony in ninth place out of 11 countries in the happiness survey.

Young people in India were the most content with 98 per cent saying they were happy, followed by the Philippines (92 per cent), Indonesia (89 per cent), Australia (82 per cent) and Thailand (81 per cent).

Malaysia ranked sixth (76), mainland China seventh (76) and Singapore eighth (72).

Only South Korea and Taiwan youngsters were unhappier than those in Hong Kong, the report in the South China Morning Post was quoted by DPA as saying.

The survey, carried out by research firm Synovate, questioned 11,000 people aged 8 to 24 in 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region between October and December last year.

Respondents were not asked to say why they were unhappy, however the research concluded that the pressure to succeed academically in more developed countries like Hong Kong could be to blame for the lack of happiness. (*)