Don't Worry, Be Happy: The Most Optimistic Countries In The World Are All In Latin America
Out of the ten most optimistic countries in the world, nine are located in Latin America, according to a new report from Gallup that tried to measure which nations had the highest levels of positive feelings among their inhabitants. According to the report, the nations that experienced the most optimism outside of Latin America include Canada, the U.S., Chile, Argentina, Australia, France, Sweden, Finland, and China.
The countries that reported the least positive emotions include Syria, Chad, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Nepal, and Belarus. However, the report found that about seven in 10 adults worldwide experience enjoyment; they laugh and smile a lot, feel well-rested, and feel as though they’re being treated with respect. This shows that the majority of people in the world actually do feel pretty optimistic about things. “Despite the conflict and unrest that dominates much of the news, people around the world are experiencing a lot of positive emotions,” Jon Clifton writes on Gallup.
The report involved face-to-face interviews with about 1,000 adults in every country, in 138 different countries. For the third year, Paraguay tops the list as the most optimistic country, followed by Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. Syria ranked as the lowest positive country — perhaps not surprisingly. And the U.S. is in 24th place, right after Iceland, Sweden, Taiwan, and Argentina. Gallup also found that people who made more money usually reported higher positive emotions — but usually only up to a certain number, around $75,000. If you’re making over $75,000, it’s not necessarily going to make you any happier.