TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is ranked as having the second-highest level of stress in the world, according to a survey by American insurance company Cigna.

In its latest report, titled "2019 Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey," Cigna found that up to 96 percent of Taiwanese respondents said they experience heavy stress in their life, up 2 percent over the previous year. It thus ranked Taiwan second the world in terms of stress, trailing only South Korea at 97 percent.

The survey consisted of 13,200 online interviews in 23 countries around the world. Respondents were asked about their feelings toward five pillars of health and well-being: physical, financial, workplace, social, and family wellness.

Taiwan also scored poorly on the overall health index, only managing a 55.3 out of a maximum score of 100, placing it second to last on the list, ahead of only South Korea. Taiwan's overall health index dropped two percentage points from last year's score of 57.2.

Taiwan's stress level is far above the global average of 84 percent and this year overtook Hong Kong, a city with more than its share of stress, to take second place on the list. The top five stressed-out Asian countries on the list after Taiwan are Hong Kong (91 percent), Singapore (91 percent), Thailand (91 percent), China (86 percent), and Indonesia (77 percent).

Of the five pillars of health, Taiwanese respondents' lack of sleep contributed most greatly to its lower score. Other factors were an increase in stress, reduction in family time, inability to care for parents' and children's needs, and financial problems.

Social health is the only aspect that improved compared to the previous year among the Taiwanese respondents, rising slightly from 55.1 to 56.3 percent. This was mainly because respondents think they spend "a reasonable amount of time" on smartphones or tablets and have many friends to talk with.

"The survey results show that Taiwan's overall health and well-being lags behind most countries surveyed, highlighting the need for more support for Taiwanese respondents to help them improve their overall health and well-being," said Cigna CEO & President Director Tim Shields.