It happened on a Wednesday morning. The Sandwich Man – dressed in a red T-shirt with white lettering – rode past me on his bicycle on the same stretch of the same road at the same time as the day before. I watched him roll by in a sobering moment that recalled all the horror of the five-day commute: the cyclical days, the tussling masses, the dull ebbing of a scripted month.

It took great effort to remind myself that my city, London, is in one of the safest countries in the world. More relevantly, it’s also in one of the least stressed countries in the world according to Bloomberg. We take a look at the data below.

MOST STRESSED COUNTRIES – METHODOLOGY

The first thing to note is that the ranking includes 74 countries only. Comprehensive data could not be found for every country in the world and the ranking is therefore restricted to only those countries that can be fairly compared.

Bloomberg’s study uses seven equally weighted variables: homicide rates, GDP per capita (adjusted for purchasing-power parity), income inequality, corruption perception, unemployment, urban air pollution and life expectancy.

Countries were allotted points for each variable based on their relative position in that category’s ranking. The country with the least-stressful measure for each variable received 0 points, while the country with the highest stress level received 100 points. All other countries were scored on a percentile basis depending on their position between the two extremes. Points for the seven variables were averaged for a final score from 0 to 100, a higher score indicating a more stressful living environment. Only countries with data available for all seven variables were included.

MOST STRESSED COUNTRIES – RANKED

UR = Unemployment Rate (%)
LE = Life Expectancy (years at birth)

Editor’s note: Whether it’s Nigeria or Norway you’re heading to next, use our new travel guide to minimise stress and see more of the world.

Source: Bloomberg,  (via United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, International Monetary Fund, Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, Transparency International, World Health Organization)