Despite living in third-most stressful city in the world, Manileños are happy — cannabis startup

Manila is the third-most stressful city in the world, behind only Mumbai, India, and Lagos, Nigeria, according to a list compiled by Vaay, a Berlin-based wellness company focusing on cannabinoids and terpenes from the hemp plant. 

Manila ranked 98th out of 100 cities in “The Least And Most Stressful Cities Index 2021,” faring worse than war-torn cities like Baghdad, Iraq (96), and Kabul, Afghanistan (95). Reykjavik, Iceland, was judged the least stressful city.  

Vaay ranked cities according to four criteria: government factors (safety and security, gender and minority equality, and socio-political stability); physical environment (population density, pollution levels, weather patterns, and traffic congestion); financial stress (unemployment rates, social security structures, amount of disposable income); and health and wellbeing. 

“The final results show which cities overall have the most stressful social, environmental and economic conditions, and which cities lead the way in reducing the stress levels of their inhabitants,” said Vaay. — Brontë H. Lacsamana