Poll: Mexicans Among Happiest People in the World BW Online
go to original March 10, 2014

What makes people happy? An online poll by global research company Ipsos shows Mexico is the third happiest country in the world despite gloomy economic sentiments. The top spot has been taken by Indonesia, another emerging country. The study shows that the highest levels of self-reported happiness are not in rich countries, as one would expect, but in poor and middle-income ones, notably Indonesia, India and Mexico. The share of “very happy” people rose six points in — of all places — Japan, defying tsunami and nuclear accidents.
 
... These findings reflect counter-intuitive conclusion of a poll of over 18,000 adults in 24 countries as part of the new Ipsos Global Trends Survey, a study that aims to build a more comprehensive picture of what matters to people globally.
 
To determine who might be the ‘happiest people’, special attention is paid to those who report they are ‘very happy.’ The proportion of those who indicate they are ‘very happy’ – rather than only ‘somewhat happy’ – represents a key measure that identifies comparative depth and intensity of happiness among country citizens and the world.
 
Globally two in ten (20 per cent) indicate they are very happy, down two points from the same time one year ago (22 per cent). Young people appear happiest on a global aggregate level, as those who are under the age of 35 (24 per cent) are more likely to say they are ‘very happy’ than those who are 35-49 (18 per cent) and 50-64 (16 per cent) across all countries surveyed. Furthermore, socio-economics play a role as those with a high education (24 per cent) and those with a high household income (22 per cent) are among those most likely to be ‘very happy’. Married people (23 per cent) are more likely to be ‘very happy’ than those who are unmarried and there is no statistical difference in happiness across gender (20 per cent).
 
Regionally, Latin America has the greatest proportion of people saying they are ‘very happy’, with one third (31 per cent) of their population responding this way. North America is next with 25 per cent followed by the Middle East and Africa (23 per cent), Asia Pacific (22 per cent) and Europe (13 per cent).

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