Hey, how are you?
This simple question we ask of others on a daily basis yields a wide range of answers and emotions – from happy to sad – but when asked on a global scale, the answers are quite fascinating according to the Global Emotions Report.
In 2018, US-based analytics company Gallup asked 151,000 people in 143 countries a series of questions about how they’d felt the day before. Were they angry or sad? Did they smile or laugh? Did they learn something new?
More than seven in 10 people worldwide said they experienced a lot of enjoyment (71%), felt well-rested (72%), smiled or laughed a lot (74%) and felt treated with respect (87%).
Positive Paraguay
Gallup’s measure of the world’s positive experiences had been on the decline for a few years, but that trend reversed in 2018, with more people reporting good experiences the day before the survey than they did in 2017. Paraguay, the little South American country with the chilled-out reputation, ranked highest worldwide for Positive Experiences, and has held this position since 2015.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is also the country that smiles the most globally. According to the report, Nigerians were most likely to have said they’d smiled or laughed a lot the day before, with more than nine in 10 giving a positive answer.
The US was the 39th most positive country, the UK was 46th and India ranked 93rd. The most negative country was Chad, followed by Niger.
Top 5 countries with highest positive experiences
- Paraguay
- Panama
- Guatemala
- Mexico
- El Salvador
Top 5 countries with highest negative experiences
- Chad
- Niger
- Sierra Leone
- Iraq
- Iran
Top 5 countries who are most stressed out
- Greece
- Philippines
- Tanzania
- Albania
- Iran
While life in Australia and New Zealand is one of happiness and positivity, according to the study, neither country placed in the top or bottom five for any emotion, and it’s unclear exactly how many people were surveyed in each country.
According to the United Nations’ World Happiness Report, Scandinavian countries top the list of the world’s happiest people. While Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland reported the most happiness in the U.N’s study, Gallup’s survey found even higher levels of positive emotions in South America.
