BEIJING -- Sixty percent of business leaders on China's mainland have experienced an increase in stress in the past 12 months, according to a Grant Thornton International Business Report released Thursday.

Worldwide, 32 percent of business leaders reported more stress last year. The number of Chinese leaders was second only to Greece (67 percent), which has been suffering from a debt crisis. In Taiwan, 57 percent of business leaders reported more stress.

Of all respondents, 24 percent said their stress stems from the pursuit of business goals; 20 percent said they had difficulty balancing work and with their private lives.

The report also indicates that Chinese business leaders take the second shortest annual leave, an average of seven days in the past 12 months, excluding public holidays; Japan's business leaders took five days.