Mumbai the most stressful major city to live in, and Hong Kong not much better, new league table shows
- On a scale from 1, for least stressful, to 100, for most stressful, Hong Kong is 74th in a league table collated by a seller of CBD oil and hemp supplements
- Despite calls for the cancellation of the summer Olympics, Tokyo was judged to be the least stressed by Covid-19 restrictions
A new league table shows Mumbai in India is the most stressful major city to live in, and Hong Kong is not much better. At the opposite end of the scale, Reykjavik in Iceland is the world’s lowest-stress city.
The compilers of the table of 100 cities say Hong Kong’s current political turmoil could make its ranking – 74th in 2021 – even worse in years to come, adding that the unrest might act as an “anxiety accelerator” for residents.
The “Least and Most Stressful Cities Index 2021” league table should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt – having been collated by Yaay, a Berlin-based purveyor of CBD (cannabidiol) oil products and hemp supplements, to “promote inner balance and mindfulness” – but its data about the causes of stress for urban dwellers provide food for thought.
The cities’ rankings are based on their scores for 16 factors – including governance, social and financial pressures, pollution and the impact of Covid-19 measures. Scandinavian cities rank at or near the top for many of the 16 factors – Reykjavik has the least air and noise pollution, and the most gender equality, safety and security.
Most of the cities ranked lowest for stress are in the West. No Asian city ranks in the top 25 and seven – including Jakarta (Indonesia) and Manila (the Philippines) – are ranked among the 10 most stressful.
