Survey: Eight of Top Ten Happiest Nations on Earth are in LatAm

BY STAFF REPORT

A survey conducted by research firm Gallup has found that Latin Americans are the most positive people in the world. The research firm has made a list of ten countries where a majority of the population has a positive feeling in life. Interestingly, eight out of ten countries listed in Gallup’s report are in Latin America.

Most of the respondents in Panama and Paraguay said they regularly experience positive emotions. Though Singaporeans are known for their wealth, the report found them least happy. The other countries who made it the top ten are El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Gallup found that 85 percent of adults worldwide felt treated with respect all day, 72% smiled and laughed a lot, 73% felt enjoyment a lot of the day, and 72% felt well-rested.

This data may surprise globalization pundits who almost always focus on traditional economic indicators as gauges of national success. “Residents of Panama, which ranks 90^th in the world with respect to GDP per capita, are among the most likely to report positive emotions. Residents of Singapore, which ranks fifth in the world in terms of GDP per capita, are the least likely to report positive emotions,” the report noted.

That means higher income does not necessarily mean higher states of well-being.

“Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman and Princeton economist Angus Deaton found in the United States that income only makes a significant impact on daily positive emotions when earning up to $75,000 annually — after that, additional income does not make as much of a difference,” the report added.

Gallup said its report was based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted in 2011 in 148 countries and areas.