The Gallup Global Emotions index for 2018 is here. It confirms what we all know instinctively. The world is getting angrier and more negative for its dwellers. However, if you live in Taiwan, you might feel better about the situation than almost everyone else in the world, as Taiwan has ranked lowest in negative experiences in the world. Over 150,000 responses were tallied from over 140 countries to see how people around the world felt about their situations.
“Gallup asked adults in 142 countries if they had five different negative experiences on the day before the survey. More than one in three people said they experienced a lot of worry (39%) or stress (35%), and three in 10 experienced a lot of physical pain (31%). At least one in five experienced sadness (24%) or anger (22%).” – Gallup
The country of Chad ranked highest on the survey, showing that at least 66% of residents in 2018 experienced physical pain. 61% reported that they worried a lot, and 51% endured a lot of sadness and stress. 38% of people in Chad also said they were angry a lot, which is nearly twice the global average of 22%. Their overall score was 54 on the Negative Experiences Index.
This is in stark contrast with Taiwan, which scored 40 points lower on the Negative Experience index, getting only 14. This made Taiwan the place with the least negative experiences in the world. Other countries in the world at the bottom of the list were Singapore (17), Kazakhstan (17), Vietnam (18), and Turkmenistan (18).
However, it must be noted that Taiwan was not at the top of the Positive Experiences Index either. Latin America dominated that list with Paraguay (85), Panama (85), Guatemala (84), Mexico (84), and El Salvador (83), rounding out the top 5 places with the most positive experiences.
The global average for positive experiences was 71, and the global average for negative experiences was 30. Compared to previous years the global average of negative experiences are on the rise while positive experiences have generally stayed the same.
How do you feel about the situation in Taiwan? Is it less negative than any other place you’ve been to?
Taiwan Observer 
During my 2 years in Taiwan, I became way more relaxed and tolerant after living in Hong Kong. Waiting for the green man at the lights, no problem. Smile at someone, they smile back. People were happy with their lot in life. Oh, how I miss that, but circumstance dictates being back in HK. Not a bad second choice though.
LikeLike