Looking at the news, we may see economic difficulties, dangerous epidemics, war and conflict, but most people are actually optimistic about the new year, according to a new poll. 70% of the world’s population is happy! Fijians are the most content with their lives, while people in Iraq are the least happy of all.
Global market research and polling organization WIN/Gallup released the 38th End of Year Survey, which highlights that people around the world are increasingly optimistic about 2015. It polled more than 64,000 respondents from 65 countries and found that 70% of people are happy, compared to only 60% last year.
Fiji is the happiest nation in the world, with astounding 93% of the residents in the island country in Oceania expressing contentment. In contrast, 31% of the people in Iraq are either “unhappy” or “very unhappy”. Globally, only 6% of the people said they were unhappy, while in 2013, their percentage was double. Those who aren’t certain of their happiness, or the lack of it, have remained stable from the previous year – 23%, compared to 26% in 2013.
Surprisingly, Africa is the happiest region, where 83% of the respondents are content, followed by Asia with 77% of its population saying it is happy. And generally, nations across MENA, Oceania and Western Europe are the least happy according to the results of the survey – 13% of Arabs, 14% of people in Oceania, and 11% of Western Europeans are unhappy. These regions are also the most pessimistic about 2015, with an average of 27% of them expecting the new year to be worse than 2014. But the survey shows that optimism is spreading – 42% of the people around the world say 2015 will bring economic prosperity for their country, while 53% are feeling generally optimistic about the future. And Africa and Asia are leading when it comes to positive views – 75% of Africans and 63% of Asians believe 2015 will be better than 2014.
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Nigerians are the most optimistic country – 85% of respondents there say the new year will be better, while Lebanon is the most pessimistic nation with 26% expecting something good, compared to the majority of residents (52%) who are pessimistic. Several European nations are expecting economic difficulties – France (57%), Serbia (56%), Greece (54%), and Belgium (54%).
This year, the survey asked respondents whether they were willing to fight for their country and discovered 60% of the global population would take up arms to defend their country, while 27% would not be willing. In Western Europe, only 25% would go to war, while 53% admit they wouldn’t fight (Italians are the least willing with 68%). In contrast, 77% of people in MENA countries state they would fight for their flag. And 44% of the people in the USA say they would defend their country.
However, the results of the poll should not be taken as some universal, global value as only 65 countries were included. For instance, the MENA region includes only Afghanistan, Lebanon, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.
