Poll Reveals Most and Least Emotional Countries in the World

Singapore is the least emotional country is the world, a new poll revealed.

However, researchers found that while Singaporeans are the least likely in the world to report either positive or negative feelings on a daily basis, emotions seem to run wild among citizens of the Philippines, which is located in the same geographic corner of the world, according to a new Gallup survey.

A new poll of more than 150 nations conducted via telephone and in-person of about 1,000 people ages 15 and older in each country every year between 2009 and 2011 asked participants whether they had five positive and five negative emotions a lot the day before. The negative emotions include anger, stress, sadness, physical pain, and worry, and the positive emotions include feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, enjoyment, smiling and laughing a lot, and learning or doing something interesting.

Researchers measured the presence of the emotions by averaging together the percentage of residents in each country who reported experiencing each of the 10 positive and negative emotions.

Researchers found that Singapore was the most emotionless country in the world with 36 percent of residents saying they experienced the range of these feelings daily, followed by Georgia and Lithuania, both at 37 percent, Russia and Madagascar and Ukraine at 38 percent.

The poll revealed that the Philippines was the most emotional country with an average of 60 percent of their residents saying they felt these 10 emotions a lot on a daily basis, followed by El Salvador at 57 percent, Bahrain at 56 percent and Oman and Colombia and 55 percent.

Researchers also analyzed positive and negative emotions separately and found that residents in the Middle East and North Africa feel the most negative emotions and residents in Latin America felt the most positive emotions.

Researchers say that while countries with the highest negative emotions are struck with economic hardship, riots, and war, the findings suggest that simply boosting income might not be the solution to improve the well-being of a country's residents.

While Singapore has one of the world's lowest unemployment rates and one of the world's highest GDP rates, its residents hardly experience any positive emotions.

"Singapore leadership needs to consider strategies that lie outside of the traditional confines of classic economics and would be well-advised to include well-being in its overall strategies if it is going to further improve the lives of its citizenry," Gallup researchers wrote in a statement.

Least Emotional Countries (based on the percentage of respondents who answered "Yes" when asked if they experienced a range of either positive or negative emotions daily)

Singapore: 36%
Georgia: 37%
Lithuania: 37%
Russia: 38%
Madagascar: 38%
Ukraine: 38%
Belarus: 38%
Kazakhstan: 38%
Nepal: 38%
Kyrgyzstan: 38%

Most Emotional Countries (based on the percentage of respondents who answered "Yes" when asked if they experienced a range of either positive or negative emotions daily)