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Emerging Asian nations are finding out what developed ones did years ago: Money does buy happiness - or at least satisfaction.

Levels of self-reported well-being in fast-growing nations like Indonesia, China and Malaysia now rival those in the U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom, who traditionally topped the happiness charts.

And women in particular are growing more satisfied with their lifestyles as a result, according to the global study. 

Scroll down for a table of results 

Levels of self-reported well-being in fast-growing nations like Indonesia, China and Malaysia now rival those in the U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom, who traditionally topped the happiness charts

The study, by the Pew Research Center in Washington, confirmed that rises in national income are closely linked to personal satisfaction.

The pollsters asked people in 43 countries to place themselves on a 'ladder of life,' with a scale from 0 to 10 and the top rung representing the best possible life and the bottom the worst. 

Pew carried out the same survey in 2002 and 2005 in most of those countries, enabling researchers to look at trends over time.

But the data also suggested that there is a limit to how much happiness money can buy.

The study, by the Pew Research Center in Washington, confirmed that rises in national income  in countries such as China (left) are closely linked to personal satisfaction (right)

Emerging Asian nations are finding out what developed ones did years ago: Money does buy happiness - or at least satisfaction. Pictured are a couple in Beijing, China 

For example, 56 per cent of Malaysians rated their life a 'seven' or higher on the ladder, significantly more than the 36 per cent in Bangladesh, a poor country. 

Yet the public in Germany, which has far higher gross domestic product per capita than Malaysia, expressed a life satisfaction level of 60 per cent, just four per cent more than Malaysia.

While wealth appears to contribute to happiness, other research has indicated it is far from the only factor.

Women tend to be happier than men, for example, and unmarried and middle-aged people tend to report lower levels of well-being than married and younger people, respectively.

The Pew survey were based on 47,643 interviews in 43 countries with adults 18 and older between March and June.

It found that people in emerging and developing economies prioritise a few essentials in life, including their health, their children's education and safety from crime. 

Fewer people in those economies said internet access, car ownership, free time or the ability to travel is very important in their lives.

The survey saw significant gains in personal satisfaction in Indonesia, where 58 per cent of those polled placed themselves on the seventh-highest rung of the 'ladder of life' or above, up from 23 per cent in 2007.

In Malaysia, where 56 per cent put themselves in that same upper range, up from 36 per cent seven years ago. 

In Vietnam, which wasn't included in the 2007 survey, 64 per cent said they were on the seventh-highest rung or above.

The survey saw significant gains in satisfaction in Indonesia, where 58 per cent of those polled placed themselves on the seventh-highest rung of the 'ladder of life' or above, up from 23 per cent in 2007

While wealth appears to contribute to happiness, other research has indicated it is far from the only factor. Pictured is a man talking on his phone in Indonesia 

Women tend to be happier than men, for example, and unmarried and middle-aged people tend to report lower levels of well-being than married and younger people, respectively 

Jude Miller Burke talks about women and money

The Associated Press asked people in those three nations what they thought of the findings.

'Money can't secure happiness,' said Nguyen Thi Mai, 66-year-old retired teacher from Vietnam.

'There are people who don't have any money but they lead a happy life because family members love and respect each other. 

'But there are rich families where husbands and wives often quarrel and children are addicted to drugs.' 

'Money can buy lots of happiness for me because I am very materialistic,' said businessman Tony Wong in Malaysia. 

'But that's not the only thing that makes me happy. Money is number one on my top five list, followed by health, family, dogs and friends.' 

This table shows the per cent saying that they were 7,8,9 or 10 in the 'ladder of life'. Over half of the UK is slightly less happier than it was in 2002, while 13 per cent of Germans are happier than they were 12 years ago

Eighteen per cent of Ugandans are happier now than 12 years ago, and eight per cent are happier in Tanzania

Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, Chile and Peru are all happier now than 12 years ago