According to the survey, which interviewed 1,000 respondents each from 142 counties, about 1% felt “very lonely”, while the remaining 13% said they were “fairly” lonely.
Of the sum, 16% of Malaysian men felt “very or fairly” lonely, while 13% of women felt the same way.
The survey, conducted between June 2022 and February of this year, saw neighbours Singapore equal Malaysia with 14% saying they felt “very or fairly,” lonely.
However, 15% of Singaporean women felt “very or fairly” lonely compared to 13% of men who felt the same way.
Meanwhile, 10% of Thais and 9% of Indonesians reported sharing such sentiments.
Malaysia however fared better when it came to “feeling supported”- defined as how much one felt cared for by people – with 39%.
Some 38% of Malaysian men felt “very supported”, while 39% of women felt the same way.
And while it was two percentage points below Singapore (41%), Malaysia topped Indonesia and Thailand, with the two neighbours scoring 35%.
According to the Meta-Gallup global study of social connections, people who felt more socially supported by others were less likely to experience daily physical pain and stress.
Malaysia also did better when it came to feeling connected to people with 64% of respondents saying they felt “very or fairly” connected.
Of the sum, 67% of men felt “very or fairly” connected, while 62% of women felt the same way.
Indonesia and Singapore ranked a little higher with 77% and 73% respectively in terms of feeling “very or fairly” connected. Thailand meanwhile had the same percentage as Malaysia.
The study also stated that social connectedness helped sustain people. Health and well-being can be affected by one’s social life, it said, adding that when people experienced loneliness or social isolation, it could take an emotional and physical toll on their health.
“In fact, loneliness and isolation have been linked to chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, dementia and cardiovascular disease, as well as depression and anxiety, which are associated with an elevated risk of premature death.”
Gallups’ senior social scientist Dr Telli Davoodi said Malaysia was among the countries where less than a quarter of the population felt very or fairly lonely.
In fact, more than half of the population reported not feeling lonely at all, Telli told FMT.
“One hundred countries among the countries that we surveyed have a quarter or more of their population report feeling very or fairly lonely, but Malaysia is among the 42 countries where less than a quarter feel lonely.
“So, in my interpretation of this data, loneliness levels in Malaysia are not worrisome, and in fact, Malaysia seems to be among the less lonely countries.”