India’s cultural and societal roots deeply reflect a collectivist framework, built largely on the foundation of strong family values. However, according to a recent report from JB.com, India has emerged as the world’s second-loneliest country out of 36 nations surveyed.
The digital entertainment platform ranked countries based on parameters including loneliness, isolation, sadness, and household composition. While Turkey topped the list, India followed closely behind.
Domestically, India prides itself on its core belief in family structures. Yet, it continues to score significantly higher on the loneliness index than typically individualistic, Western societies like Canada.
India on the Loneliness Scale
According to the JB.com study, India received a loneliness score of 89, trailing only Turkey, which topped the list with a score of 100. The report found that nearly 58% of Indians experience loneliness, while 34% of respondents felt isolated. Furthermore, a significant 37% of Indians answered in the affirmative when asked if they felt “frequently sad.”
Experts who prepared the report noted, “This suggests loneliness in India is emotional rather than physical,” pointing out that the average family size in the country consists of at least four people. This raises the question: why is India still so lonely?
Despite a strong familial structure, there are evident signs of emotional distress, revealing a negative correlation between traditional living arrangements and mental well-being in the country. A major driver of this trend was identified as rising levels of digital consumption and a persistent online presence.
Moreover, the report revealed that “the countries at the top of this list have high entertainment engagement but low social trust. People are watching more and talking less.” The overtly passive consumption of online content was identified not as a cure for loneliness, but merely as a coping mechanism that numbs it.
The Top 10 Loneliest Countries
Turkey, which ranked as the world’s loneliest country, recorded 61% of its population reporting loneliness. Nearly 45% felt isolated, and 31% said they repeatedly experience sadness. In contrast, only one in five Turkish households consists of a single member, demonstrating a direct correlation between emotional disconnect and loneliness, rather than physical solitude.
Following India, Brazil ranked third on the list. With a loneliness score of 78—eleven points below India, the South American nation showed 53% of its population feeling lonely and 43% feeling isolated. South Africa ranked fourth, though notably, only 18% of its respondents reported feeling isolated.
Meanwhile, South Korea ranked fifth, despite having the highest share of single-person households at nearly 40%. This further indicates that social structures and living arrangements are not the only factors impacting emotional well-being and loneliness.
On the other end of the spectrum were Uzbekistan and the Netherlands, which emerged as the least lonely nations in the report. Canada, along with Thailand—the only other Asian country to tip the scale downward—reported significantly lower levels of loneliness.
The complete list includes:
- Turkey
- India
- Brazil
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Australia
- Indonesia