OREANDA-NEWSIn 2018, the top list of the happiest countries in the world was headed by Latin American countries, and African Chad became the most unhappy country. This is evidenced by a survey of the American research company Gallup. The population of Latin American countries are more likely to experience positive emotions. Most of the negative - in Africans.

The survey was conducted in 143 countries of the world. The questions were associated with positive and negative emotions that respondents felt on the day preceding communication with sociologists. They were asked about whether they had the opportunity to laugh or smile on that day, whether they felt rested, felt happiness or other positive emotions. Paraguay and Panama became the two happiest countries in the world - they received an index of “positive experience” of 85 points. Following them comes Guatemala and Mexico (84 points), El Salvador (83). The first non-Latin American country on the list is Indonesia - it is in sixth place.

The most unhappy countries were in Africa - Chad (54 points on the negative scale), Niger and Sierra Leone (50). Following them are two Middle Eastern countries - Iraq (49) and Iran (48). Among the determining factors in the negative scale, Gallup researchers included stress, anxiety, physical pain, sadness, and anger. Almost 40% of the inhabitants of the planet said that the day before the survey they were worried about something, 35% were experiencing stress. Almost a third (31%) said they experienced physical pain. The level of negativity in the world, recognizes Gallup, has been growing over the past years. The index was at the lowest level in 2007 (23 points), but since then it has grown almost every year, reaching 30 points at the global level. Nevertheless, it is still below the positive index - in 2018, it was at the level of 71 points.

Bloomberg previously published the latest version of the ranking of the most miserable economies in the world, compiled on the basis of key economic indicators. For the fifth time in a row, Venezuela led it. Russia was on the list in 17th place.