Britons (46 per cent) are the biggest buyers of lottery tickets or participants in competitions and raffles in an effort to boost their financial success while close to two thirds of Argentineans (64 per cent) and Russians (58 per cent) disagreed with the statement that they would be happier if they had more money.

These were some of the figures emerging from a survey conducted by Synovate, a leading global research firm.

Around 12,500 people across Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US were questioned about their definitions of financial success, where they see themselves in terms of what they have and their attitudes towards money and what actions they take to get more of it.

When asked to rank a series of definitions of financial success, markets such as India, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Indonesia and, more surprisingly, developed markets Germany and Italy were most focused on providing the very basics of food and shelter for their families.

Managing director of Synovate Germany Harald Hasselmann said that in the case of Germany it is linked to their values.

'Average Germans rate issues like responsibility, financial independence and career aspirations high on their radar system. So while at first it looks surprising that people in a such a developed economy seem to rate the basics as their top priority, it actually makes total sense that they are sharply focused on providing for the family,' he said.

Synovate's senior vice-president of financial services in the US Claire Braverman said the results remind us of the reality that there are a lot of consumers out there in all markets who are struggling.

The number one definition of financial success in developed markets is 'I have no debt'. This was especially the case in the US and the UK, but also very evident in Australia, Netherlands and Canada.

Braverman said the definition of success in these markets is less about what people can afford and more about how they pay for it.

Consumers in emerging markets are far more likely to attribute financial success to good luck rather than good management, and are also more likely to think about money and how to get it.

In Saudi Arabia only 36 per cent of the respondents agreed on the statement that financial success is more due to good luck than good management.

A series of agree/disagree questions explored how people feel about money and its relative importance in their lives.

More than two thirds of Indonesians (83 per cent) agree with the statement 'I think about money - and how to get more of it - regularly', followed by 76 per cent in both India and Malaysia and 72 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

Half of the Saudi’s believe that the time it takes to become financially successful is not worth the time it takes away from other, more important things.

The most popular choice (47 per cent) for people trying to improve or maintain their financial position was to just get on with the job and work hard, closely followed by having a budget or plan (43 per cent).

Overall, the actions people take in developing and emerging markets are very similar. The main differences, other than the lottery, were that consumers in developed markets were more likely to use a financial planner or adviser, but this was still only one in every five. – TradeArabia News Service