Around the world, one in four people will have some kind of mental illness during their lifetime. Around 450 million people are living with a mental 41 problem right now, making it one of the biggest health issues in the world. 42 people rarely talk about any mental health problems they have because there is still a lot of shame. 

   World Mental Health Day was first celebrated in 1992 to 43 awareness of just how common mental health issues are and campaign for better conditions and treatment. The number of people and organizations 44 in celebrating WMH Day has grown and grown. And now many 45 , such as Australia, actually have a Mental Health Week, which includes WMH Day on 10 October. Each year there is a different theme. For example, in 2017 the theme was mental health in the workplace.

   Are you tired of your home country? Do you dream of better opportunities abroad? If you answered “yes”, then you and 700 million other people in the world want to emigrate. This figure is more than the entire adult populations of North and South America combined.

   The top destination remains the US, even though the economy hasn’t fully recovered. Britain, Canada, and France were tied for second because about 45 million wanted to relocate to each of these countries. Spain was third, and Saudi Arabia was fourth. About 25 million people wanted to emigrate to either Australia or Germany. The people who want to emigrate the most come from sub-Saharan Africa. About 38% of adults from this area would like to live elsewhere because Sub-Saharan Africa remains a poor and hopeless place for its inhabitants, and experts guess an even darker future. In contrast, in Asia, only 10% of the population wants to move. Although reasons weren’t given, Asia’s huge potential for growth likely limited the number seeking lives elsewhere.

   However, according to a newly published survey, nearly one in five Singaporeans between the ages of 19 and 30 wish to emigrate, and almost a third will consider the possibility of doing so within the next five years. Those who want to emigrate are likely to be males, better educated and also speak English at home. They also hold positive views towards emigration, and think that it will improve their social status and socio-economic security. And being a permanent resident overseas opened up more opportunities. The most desired country for migration? Australia. Among the other countries most favored by respondents are New Zealand, the US, the UK and Canada. The 2016 survey also found that those who are less likely to think about emigrating believe they can improve their lot in Singapore, and have a higher sense of national pride and life satisfaction levels. On citizenship, more than half (53.1 per cent) of those surveyed said they would not give up their Singapore citizenship even if they got permanent residency overseas.