Negative emotions decreased globally last year for the first time in a decade, while positive emotions have returned to pre-pandemic levels despite the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts, according to a report.

 

Based on nearly 146,000 interviews with adults across 142 countries and regions in 2023, the Gallup Global Emotions 2024 Report provides insights into people's daily positive and negative experiences. 

Regions affected by conflict continue to show significant emotional challenges, the report said.

 

Gallup’s Positive and Negative Experience Indexes measure life’s intangibles — feelings and emotions — that traditional economic indicators such as GDP were never intended to capture. Each index provides a real-time snapshot of people’s daily experiences, offering leaders insights into the health of their societies that they cannot gather from economic measures alone.

 

On a global level, Gallup’s Negative Experience Index declined for the first time since 2014. All five negative emotions that make up the index fell between 2022 and 2023, but stress levels dropped the most. Thirty-seven percent of the world felt stressed in 2023, down three points from the previous year but well above where it was a decade ago (33%) and the years before that.

 

Stress was still prevalent worldwide, but at various degrees. Stress levels were higher in Northern Cyprus (65%) and Israel (62%), but lower in Kyrgyzstan (8%).

 

Israel led the world in increased stress, with levels rising 38 points to a new record high. Other countries experienced double-digit rises, including Latvia (17 points), Kuwait (14 points), and Egypt (13 points).

 

Along with Afghanistan, most countries and territories that scored the lowest in the world on positive experiences in 2022 also scored the lowest in 2023. Northern Cyprus was no exception: The territory’s score of 46 is its lowest on record.

 

Lebanon and Türkiye also scored near the bottom of the rankings, as they have since 2020. However, Lebanon’s Positive Experience Index continued to rebound in 2023. At 47, Türkiye’s score remained statistically unchanged from the previous year (45).

 

Positive Experience Index Rebounds

Further reinforcing that 2023 was a better year for the world’s emotional health, positive experiences rebounded to their pre-pandemic levels, completing the recovery that started in 2022.

 

People younger than 30 continued to be the most positive of all age groups. Further, their positivity rebounded faster, with emotions bouncing back a year earlier than their older peers. Most of the improvement on the index in 2023 occurred among those aged 30 and older.   – TradeArabia News Service