Global Stress Levels Are Surprisingly Similar — But Bodies Respond Very Differently
Welltory analyzed data from 1.5 million users in 23 countries — stress levels look similar everywhere, but recovery, HRV, and resilience tell a very different story.
Dealing with high stress on a daily basis has become normal, no matter where we live. Deadlines, meetings, illness, family challenges, and financial pressures all take a toll. But while the feeling of stress is similar worldwide, the way different nations respond to it is far from uniform.
Drawing on internal data from Welltory, which analyzed the physiological metrics of over 1.5 million users across 23 countries, we found that although average stress levels remain fairly consistent across countries, measures like average recovery, HRV, and health resilience reveal significant differences in how bodies cope with stress.
Average stress, recovery, HRV, and health resilience by country
| Country | Avg. Stress Level | Avg. Recovery Level | Avg. HRV Score | Avg. Health Resilience Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The United States | 68.44% | 73.63% | 23.18 | 88.83 |
| Canada | 65.91% | 75.47% | 25.01 | 89.3 |
| Australia | 67.39% | 75.2% | 23.97 | 88.57 |
| Greece | 66.06% | 76.01% | 24.52 | 89.54 |
| Belgium | 65.39% | 78.27% | 25.98 | 89.59 |
| Italy | 65.17% | 77.11% | 26.16 | 90.17 |
| Sweden | 64.95% | 77.02% | 26.7 | 89.96 |
| Denmark | 64.91% | 77.72% | 27.33 | 89.72 |
| Germany | 63.21% | 77.72% | 28.06 | 89.45 |
| Finland | 63.07% | 78.57% | 28.3 | 90.55 |
| Netherlands | 63.06% | 78.29% | 29.41 | 90.35 |
| Poland | 62.67% | 77.51% | 30.4 | 90.33 |
| Norway | 61.91% | 78.66% | 30.2 | 89.56 |
| Philippines | 69.88% | 70.91% | 24.38 | 88.63 |
| Singapore | 68.49% | 74.96% | 24.96 | 90.31 |
| Thailand | 67.59% | 75.43% | 25.31 | 87.77 |
| Indonesia | 66.86% | 74.15% | 26.47 | 88.26 |
| India | 66.21% | 73.16% | 27.65 | 90.92 |
| Japan | 65.45% | 76.36% | 27.05 | 89.41 |
| United Arab Emirates | 65.08% | 74.84% | 27.18 | 90.44 |
| Israel | 64.83% | 74.78% | 28.2 | 90.97 |
| Turkey | 64.75% | 75.24% | 27.67 | 90.0 |
| Kazakhstan | 61.66% | 75.59% | 31.49 | 90.99 |
Understanding the metrics: what do the scores mean?
To make sense of the data, it helps to know what each measurement means and what the scores reflect.
Stress represents the physical and mental load on the body — a high score suggests the body is under a lot of stress.
Recovery represents how effectively the body restores itself after dealing with stress. Higher recovery levels mean you're restoring quickly; a low score points to fatigue and strain.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) represents the variation between each heartbeat. A higher score indicates a healthier autonomic nervous system; a lower score suggests the body is experiencing stress.
Health Resilience represents how well we adapt to stress and keep the body in balance. A high score reflects better adaptation and coping capacity.
How the US, Canada, and Australia handle stress
Stress levels in the US, Australia, and Canada are very similar, ranging from 66% to 68%, showing that people in these countries are affected by daily pressure constantly. But the body's response to stress tells a totally different story.
Canada leads in recovery (75.47%) and HRV (25.01), reflecting that Canadians bounce back quicker and have a more flexible nervous system. Canada also has the lowest stress level (65.91%) and the highest health resilience score (89.3).
On the other side, US stress levels are the highest (68.44%) and the average recovery level is the lowest (73.63%). Australia falls in between, with average stress at 67.39% and a strong recovery level of 75.2%, showing that its response to stress is better than in the US but not as effective as in Canada.
Compared with European countries, all three have relatively high stress levels and lower recovery, HRV, and health resilience scores.
Higher stress levels and lower recovery levels and resilience scores in countries like the US, Canada, and Australia could be influenced by long working hours, high work pressure, commuting time, and less emphasis on daily rest compared to most European countries. Environmental factors, diet, and social support systems also play a role, showing that while stress is universal, how our bodies cope is shaped by both culture and daily habits.
Europe proves stress isn't the problem — poor recovery is
Stress, on its own, is not inherently harmful. It is a normal body response that helps the body adapt to challenges, maintain focus, and respond to changing demands. It can actually be beneficial, because it strengthens the nervous system's ability to cope with future pressure.
Stress only becomes a problem when it is persistent and inadequately recovered from, so the body does not return to baseline and strain accumulates over time.
To better understand how this dynamic plays out across Europe, we selected the five European countries with the lowest and the five with the highest average stress levels. This approach allows for a balanced comparison of stress exposure and of how people in these countries recover from it.
In Europe, stress levels are lower than in the US, Canada, and Australia, ranging from 61.91% in Norway to 66.06% in Greece. But the real story emerges when we look at recovery, HRV, and health resilience. Northern and Western European countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Norway stand out with the highest HRV and recovery levels. Add in the fact that every European country in our data has a health resilience score above 89, and a picture emerges of Europeans recovering quicker and coping with stress better than most of the world.
Interestingly, countries with higher stress levels, like Greece (66.06%) and Belgium (65.39%), still maintain solid recovery and resilience scores, hinting at how much cultural practices and lifestyle habits matter. Overall, Europe shows a pattern of moderate stress paired with strong recovery and resilience — a reminder that how the body handles and recovers from stress matters more than the stress itself.
How do Asian countries handle stress?
Stress levels in Asia vary more widely than in Europe, ranging from 61.66% in Kazakhstan to 69.88% in the Philippines. Alongside the highest average stress level, the Philippines also has the lowest recovery and HRV, and the second-lowest health resilience score, making it the most stressed Asian country in our data — and the one with the hardest time recovering. Interestingly, a highly developed country like Singapore ranks second in average stress, reflecting high work pressure, intense focus on academic achievement from a young age, and a high cost of living.
In contrast, countries like Japan, the UAE, and Israel combine moderate stress levels with high recovery and HRV, showing that even under pressure, they bounce back quickly. Kazakhstan stands out as the country with the lowest average stress level, the second-highest recovery level, and the highest HRV and health resilience score, reflecting a slower pace of life and a strong connection to nature.
Overall, Asia shows a wide range of stress and recovery patterns: some countries face high levels of stress, while others demonstrate strong resilience and recovery, shaped by lifestyle and environmental factors.
Global stress patterns in perspective
Stress is a global experience, but how our bodies react to it and recover varies widely across nations. The US, Australia, and Canada face high stress and moderate recovery. European countries face moderate stress but have high recovery and resilience. Asia presents a mixed picture, with some countries under intense pressure and others bouncing back exceptionally well.
The data should be eye-opening for policymakers and public health officials, highlighting the need to study how lifestyle, cultural habits, and environmental factors shape stress adaptation, and how we can help people everywhere recover quicker and become more health resilient.
Understanding your stress, recovery, HRV, and health resilience can help guide healthier habits, better work-life balance, and more effective ways to manage daily challenges, no matter where you live.
Methodology
This analysis is based on anonymized, aggregated physiological data from more than 1.5 million Welltory users across 23 countries, covering average stress, recovery, HRV, and health resilience scores over the measured period. All figures are reported as anonymized, aggregated data; no individual user is identifiable. The findings reflect patterns among Welltory's user base rather than a nationally representative sample.
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Written by Mariia Ermatova
Project manager and brand advocate at Welltory. She helps turn complex health data into engaging stories and meaningful user experiences.