Expect lots of smiles in Vietnam, one of world's happiest countries
9/1/18
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Vietnamese people celebrate the New Year of 2018 in Hanoi. |
Vietnamese people are also optimistic about
2018, a new survey has found.
“It might seem crazy what I'm 'bout to say” but yes, Vietnam was one
of the five happiest countries in the world in 2017, at least that's what new
data showed.
The country has
secured the fifth position in the happiness index, which is led by Fiji, followed by Colombia,
the Philippines and Mexico,
according to the 41st Annual Global End of the Year Survey by Gallup International
Association.
As many as 78 percent of surveyed Vietnamese said they
were either very happy or happy and 1 percent said they felt unhappy when
answering the question “In general, do you personally feel very happy, happy,
neither happy nor unhappy, unhappy or very unhappy about your life?” raised by
the association of polling organizations registered in Zurich, Switzerland.
Regarding their hope for 2018, 58 percent of Vietnamese
respondents said they were optimistic, 8 percent thought this year would be
worse and the rest guessed it would be the same, found the survey which asked
on average 1,000 men and women in each country between October and December
2017.
This makes Vietnam world’s
sixth most optimistic nation, according to the survey which covered 55
countries. The hope index is led by Indonesia,
Nigeria, Fiji, Bangladesh,
and India. Rounding
up the top 10 are Albania,
Kosovo, the Philippines and Sweden.
When it comes to
economic prospects, Vietnamese are even more optimistic, ranking just behind Nigeria. More
than half or 61 percent of surveyed Vietnamese said 2018 would be a year of
prosperity, while 32 percent didn't know and only 6 percent were pessimistic.
This outlook aligns
with economists' predictions for 2018 that the economic momentum of 2017, when
the economy surpassed the government target and expanded 6.8 percent,
will continue.
Vietnam has often been described
as a happy and optimistic nation. The Happy Planet Index compiled by the
U.K.-based think tank New Economics Foundation also named Vietnam the
fifth happiest place in the world last year.
In March 2017,
however, a global report measuring contentment based on prosperity, integrity
and social support found Vietnamese among the less happy people in the world.
The country ranked 94th out of 155 countries and
territories, up two spots from the year before, right after Somalia, according
to the World Happiness Report 2017, which was prepared by the Sustainable
Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative launched by the
United Nations in 2012.
Singaporeans were named the happiest in Southeast
Asia, at number 26. Vietnam
also came behind Thailand
(32), Malaysia (42), Philippines (72) and Indonesia (81).
It should be noted that the World Happiness Report used
six factors – per capita gross domestic product, healthy life expectancy,
freedom to make life choices, generosity, social support and absence of
corruption in government or business.
Whichever survey you
wish to believe, if you're are in Vietnam or have been there, it
won't hurt to "clap along if you know what happiness is to you," as
Pharrell Williams would sing.
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