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"Suffering" In Bulgaria And Armenia Highest Worldwide

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  • "Suffering" In Bulgaria And Armenia Highest Worldwide

    "SUFFERING" IN BULGARIA AND ARMENIA HIGHEST WORLDWIDE

    Gallup.com
    Dec 4 2013

    At least a quarter considered suffering in 20 out of 143 countries
    in 2012

    by Jan Sonnenschein

    WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the third year in a row, Bulgaria in 2012 once
    again had the negative distinction of leading the global suffering
    list, with 39% of Bulgarians rating their lives poorly enough to be
    considered "suffering." However, this time, Bulgaria is not alone
    at the top. Thirty-seven percent of Armenians were suffering, and
    Cambodians, Haitians, Hungarians, Malagasy, Macedonians, and Iranians
    followed closely behind.

    Gallup classifies respondents as "thriving," "struggling," or
    "suffering" according to how they rate their current and future lives
    on a ladder scale with steps numbered from zero to 10 based on the
    Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. Gallup considers people to be
    suffering if they rate their current lives a 4 or lower and their lives
    in five years a 4 or lower. The respondents do not label themselves
    as suffering.

    In 20 out of 143 countries and areas surveyed in 2012, at least a
    quarter of the adult population rated their lives poorly enough to
    be considered suffering. Those countries span most world regions,
    including six places in crisis-hit Europe. Worldwide, one in seven
    adults was suffering in 2012. South Asia led the world in suffering
    at 24%, followed by 21% in the Balkans and the Middle East and North
    Africa regions.

    Low Levels of Suffering Mostly Seen in Wealthier Countries

    Suffering was 2% or less in 17 countries and areas -- most of them
    wealthier and more developed countries. Some developing countries also
    made this list: Thailand, Venezuela, Nigeria, the Somaliland region,
    and Libya. Gallup trend data show suffering in the first four countries
    and areas has been consistently low since Gallup started surveying
    in these places. The 2012 study in Libya is the only nationally
    representative study Gallup conducted so far in this country.

    Suffering in Venezuela has always been in the single digits, yet in
    2012, suffering was exceptionally low. With fieldwork being conducted
    in the run-up to the presidential elections in October 2012, the
    government's spending spree ahead of the elections might at least
    partially explain the drop in suffering from 7% in 2011 to 2%.

    In Libya, many people were probably still enthused by having rid the
    country of Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled in a dictatorship lasting more
    than four decades.

    Four percent of Americans were suffering in 2012.

    Implications

    Across countries, measures of well-being are highly related to income,
    education levels, and reported disease conditions. Individuals who are
    thriving have fewer disease conditions, fewer sick days, and higher
    incomes; are more highly educated; and have better work environments.

    Residents in countries with higher percentages of thriving respondents
    also report that the area they live in is a good place to live for
    people of different ethnicities, races, and cultures.

    Compared with thriving respondents, struggling respondents are much
    more likely to worry about money on a daily basis, and suffering
    respondents are less likely to have necessities such as food and
    shelter.

    Leaders in Bulgaria started to face the likely consequences of high
    levels of suffering among the country's residents in 2013. Protests
    that spread throughout the country resulted in the resignation of the
    center-right government of Boyko Borisov. However, in the poorest state
    in the European Union, conflict over poverty and corruption continues
    despite the early elections that happened in May of this year.

    For complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150
    countries Gallup continually surveys, please contact us.

    Survey Methods

    Results are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with
    approximately 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, per country. For
    results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say
    with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error ranged
    from a low of ±1.7 percentage points to ±5.6 percentage points. The
    margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition
    to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in
    conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of
    public opinion polls.

    For more complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review
    Gallup's Country Data Set details.

    See tables at
    http://www.gallup.com/poll/166076/suffering-bulgaria-armenia-highest-worldwide.aspx

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