RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombia is the happiest country in the world. So say the experts of the pollster Gallup, who place Afghanistan at the complete opposite extreme.
Colombia was ranked first in a list of 44 territories that participated in the survey.
Read also: Check out our coverage on Colombia
Who makes this statement is Kancho Stoychev, who in DW media outlet was asked about how 2021 was and what he expects from 2022.
“As for the future: if I’m not mistaken, it was Einstein who said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. There is only one thing we know for sure, and that is that, fortunately, we can’t know what our future will look like, even when we think we can. So I feel more comfortable talking about wishes rather than expectations. I have five wishes for the future: we should stop fearing death; we should rebalance the world more pragmatically; we should bring the EU back to the tables where global decisions are made; we should fight for our freedom and no longer give away our rights, and we should move away from climate hysteria a bit.”
What does Gallup International’s traditional year-end survey of 2021 and 2022 tell us?
“It tells us that global public opinion is very concerned about the economic outlook and expects a deepening of the crisis. Europe leads this way, especially Eastern Europe, where an average of close to two-thirds expect the situation to worsen. Unprecedented state support, both at the personal and corporate level, played a decisive role and, to some extent, limited the spread of pessimism. However, it seems that the worst is yet to come. Last year was marked by the hope that vaccines would end the pandemic. This year, however, ends with more questions than answers. The growth of inflation was predictable in the face of record money printing. Instead of a few months, this will last for several years. With global supply chains disrupted and energy prices exploding, widespread discontent and political tensions will increase, not only – and not even predominantly – in less developed countries.”
What is the happiest country in the world?
“Traditionally – we have been doing this global study for more than 40 years – the most developed or richest countries are not the happiest. This year, Colombia is first with 79%. Normally, countries with younger populations top the list. More developed societies tend to have older populations and are less happy. But recognizing that one is happy or unhappy includes several cultural, psychological, and national biases and stigmas. Happiness is often perceived as an absence: the absence of illness, poverty, or oppression. It is something very subjective that cannot be measured with a microscope, but it plays an important role in our lives.”
Your home country, Bulgaria, is the second most pessimistic country in the world, even more so than Afghanistan. Why?
“In measuring optimism and pessimism, we are recording public, not personal, attitudes. The traditional pessimistic mood of Bulgarians is mainly due to distrust in elites, especially in politics. Pessimism in Bulgaria is realism, not broken public dreams. It is rather a condemnation of the way society functions and, from that point of view, it is a positive and productive attitude. Our measure of happiness is a self-assessment. And here we can see that Bulgarians are quite happy, or at least exactly as happy as, for example, Germans, with the difference that at the end of this year, a slightly higher percentage of Germans declare themselves unhappy and a slightly higher percentage of Bulgarians declare themselves happy.”
And what does the survey reveal about Germany?
“Germans seem considerably less optimistic than they said they were in previous years. In that sense, they are below the EU average; and anxiety about the economy is also higher. Nearly 50% say they are happy, a comparatively much higher rate in other developed countries, such as Japan and the United States. The survey shows that the German “conscience” is somewhat annoyed, tired, and distrustful of itself. Underlying this may be a complex uncertainty related to confinements, vaccines, the complicated formula of the new government, the weak performance of the EU, the harsh confrontation between the West and Russia, or concerns about China.”
How does the coronavirus pandemic influence hope and happiness?
“All over the world, people are getting tired. Planning for the future used to be the main thing: where to go on vacation, what new car to buy, and so on. We had those answers. Now we are back to “normal,” the real normal of not knowing what the future looks like, and we perceive this new reality as something anomalous. We are losing our illusions and, at the same time, trying to replace them with “new religions”, such as climate change or the cult of the body.”
How can hope, happiness, and optimism be measured?
“Pollsters always measure subjective traits because human consciousness is personal. But through this exercise, we manage to reflect something powerful and objective, public opinion, which is a powerful tool in democratic societies. We do not see our individual preferences through surveys, but we attempt to reflect public perceptions.”
After measuring happiness, expectations, and hope for so many years, are you an optimist, Mr. Stoychev?
“Some of the best-known thinkers say that it is incompatible to be optimistic and wise. That’s why I prefer not to be an optimist.”
TOP FIVE HAPPIEST COUNTRIES
- Colombia (+79)
- Kazakhstan (+76)
- Albania (+74)
- Malaysia (+73)
- Azerbaijan (+70) (I)
Kancho Stoychev is president of Gallup International Association (GIA). Since 1979, Gallup pollsters have been measuring hopes, happiness, and economic expectations worldwide. This year’s survey shows that Indonesia is the most optimistic country and Turkey the most pessimistic. Colombia, meanwhile, is the happiest country, and Afghanistan the unhappiest.