It’s not just you: 2017 was rough for humanity worldwide, study finds
Feeling low: New high
The jump in negative experiences around the world was Violence, bitter partisan- driven largely by rising worry ship, an uncertain future. and stress, reports of each These are dark times. of which rose by 2 percent-
In fact, humanity just had its age points from 2016 to 2017. gloomiest year in more than “When you’re talking about a decade, according to a new 154,000 interviews for the survey of the emotional lives entire world, that’s actually of more than 154,000 people. a lot,” Ray said. “Those 2
More people reported negpoints, that change, is a lot.” ative experiences, defined as Reports of physical pain worry, stress, physical pain, and sadness each rose by 1 anger or sadness, than at any percentage point, also conpoint since 2005, when Gal- tributing to the global rise lup introduced the survey. in negative experiences,
“This is the first time that while reports of anger were we’ve seen a really significant unchanged. uptick in negative emotions,” In all, well more than a said Julie Ray, the chief writer third of respondents told and editor of the report and Gallup in 2017 that they had survey, known as the Gallup experienced a lot of worry World Poll. “It’s as high as or stress the day before takwe’ve ever measured it.” ing the survey. Just under a
The 2017 results, released third reported experiencing Wednesday, are based on inter- a lot of physical pain, while views with adults in more than about a fifth said they had 145 countries. Here are some felt a lot of sadness or anger of the findings. the day before.
Most negative nation
Negative experiences were highest in the Central African Republic, plagued by internal conflict for years. Not only did it unseat Iraq, which held that dubious honor four years running, but its 2017 negative experience score was also the highest Gallup ever recorded.
Violence prevented the polling organization from reaching about 40 percent of the country’s population, but among the people it could interview, about three in four reported experiencing either a lot of physical pain or a lot of worry the day before the survey.
Negative experiences have risen fast in the greater sub-Saharan region, with the negative experience index at its highest levels in a decade in 24 of 35 countries surveyed there. While no single trend can explain that shift, conflict and instability have created “growing health care crises” in the region, Gallup says.