The Philippines was the happiest country in the world in 2022, a survey of 34 countries by the Gallup International Association showed.
In GIA’s 2022 End of Year Survey, the Philippines took the top spot with a net score of 75 percent, followed by Mexico, Malaysia, Afghanistan, and Ecuador.
Some 39 percent of Filipinos were hopeful that 2023 will be better than 2022, while a majority of 52 percent said it will just be the same. At least 5 percent said it will be worse.
Nigeria and Pakistan were the top 2 most hopeful nations in the world, followed by Kazakhstan, Philippines, and India.
Global average of optimism stood at -2 percent, which means most of the world continues to doubt progress in 2023.
European countries are the least 1-optimistic about 2023, with Poland, Czech Republic, Serbia, France, and Italy as the countries with the lowest level of optimism.
Earlier, a separate survey by the Social Weather Stations showed 95 percent of adult Filipinos are entering the New Year with hope.
The poll was two percentage points higher than the 93% recorded in 2021 and was also comparable to the pre-pandemic figure of 96% in 2019.
Five percent of the 1,200 respondents said they would enter 2023 with fear, down two points from 7% in 2020 and 2021.
The survey also showed that 74% of the respondents vowed to better themselves in the coming year, 20% said they would not change anything, and the remaining 6% did not give an answer.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews and had sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Of those planning to change for the better in the coming year, at least 31% stated resolutions related to health, such as having a healthier diet and exercising more or being more active.
Twenty-seven percent plan to focus on social and attitudinal wellness, including having more patience and avoiding stress, and 16% plan to focus on their finances, such as finding a job and saving money. The remaining 2% gave other responses.