International differences in emotional experience

56. In the case of affect, positive experiences tend to be more frequently reported than negative ones, and in almost all countries and territories a majority of the population report a positive affect balance (i.e.

more than 50% of respondents reporting that positive emotions outnumber negative ones on the previous day). In the Figures that follow, countries and territories are grouped into ten broad world regions, full details of which are provided in Annex 6.

Positive affect and experiences

57. Figure 6 summarises the percentage of respondents who reported having smiled or laughed a lot yesterday (responses are pooled across all available years, from 2006-2013). Positive responses range from around 45% in Serbia and Georgia, to around 89% in Namibia and Panama. With the exception of North America, Australia and New Zealand, there are generally large variations within regions. The population-weighted regional averages (large blue markers) suggest lower proportions of positive responses (60-65%) in Central and Eastern Europe, EECCA, South Asia, and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Higher rates of positive responses (75-80%) are found in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Figure 6: Percentage of respondents reporting having smiled or laughed a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

Note: Small black markers represent data for individual countries or territories within each region. Large blue markers represent population-weighted averages for each region.

Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.

58. Experiences of enjoyment follow a reasonably similar pattern to that of smiling and laughter, although the variation both within and among regions is wider for this measure. Responses range from a low of 41% in Sierra Leone to around 90% in Denmark and Iceland. The MENA region has the lowest population-weighted regional average, reflecting particularly low scores in Iraq and Syria. While Sub-Saharan Africa also includes several very low-scoring countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gabon, Togo and Mozambique), the regional mean is more similar to those of South Asia, FSU, and Central and Eastern Europe – reflecting a wide diversity of experience in the Sub-Saharan region. Population-weighted regional averages for enjoyment are highest in North America, Australia and New Zealand, followed by East Asia, and then Latin America and the Caribbean.

Figure 7: Percentage of respondents who reported feeling enjoyment a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

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Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.

59. A slightly different regional pattern emerges in the case of feeling well-rested yesterday. Figure 8 shows that East Asia and Southeast Asia have the highest regional averages, but Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand and Latin America and the Caribbean score lower on this measure.

Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia have the lowest regional averages. At the country level, scores range from 44% in Armenia, through to 85% in Kuwait.

Figure 8: Percentage of respondents who reported feeling well-rested a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

Note: Small black markers represent data for individual countries or territories within each region. Large blue markers represent population-weighted averages for each region.

Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.

60. Previous research on cross-cultural differences in emotional experience might predict lower levels of positive emotions among Asian countries in particular. However, there seems to be little to support this in the results shown here. On the contrary, East and Southeast Asia have among the highest population-weighted regional averages across all three measures considered. This may be something to do with the specific emotions included in these analyses, or differences in the samples involved, as much of the previous work in this area has relied on small-scale convenience samples. There does, however, appear to be a trend for Central and Eastern Europe, and other EECCA countries to report lower levels of positive emotions. This is also generally true for South Asia and MENA countries. Western Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand are generally characterised by higher levels of smiling/laughter and enjoyment, but more average scores in terms of feeling well-rested yesterday.

Negative affect and experiences

61. Figure 9 shows the percentage of respondents who reported feeling a lot of sadness yesterday.

Scores range from a low of 9% in China, Thailand and Myanmar, through to 43% in Iran. The population-weighted regional average is generally hovers around 20%, but is markedly lower in East-Asia, and notably higher in the MENA region, with particularly high levels of sadness reported in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

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Figure 9: Percentage of respondents who reported feeling sadness a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

Note: Small black markers represent data for individual countries or territories within each region. Large blue markers represent population-weighted averages for each region.

Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.

62. In the case of worry (Figure 10), the MENA region also has the highest regional average, closely followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, and Central and Eastern Europe. East Asia and EECCA report the lowest levels of worry, on average. There is, however, a high degree of variation within regions on this measure. The lowest levels of worry are reported in Turkmenistan (12%) and the highest levels in Malta (60%).

Figure 10: Percentage of respondents who reported feeling worry a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

Note: Small black markers represent data for individual countries or territories within each region. Large blue markers represent population-weighted averages for each region.

Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.

63. In the case of anger (Figure 11), the MENA region once again has the highest population-weighted regional average. While most regional averages lie between 15-20%, the MENA region has a population-weighted average of 35%, which is almost 10% higher than any other region. The lowest level

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of anger is reported in Finland (7%), while the highest level is reported in Iraq (49%) followed by Iran (46%) and Syria (45%).

Figure 11: Percentage of respondents who reported feeling anger a lot yesterday (2006-2013 pooled results)

Note: Small black markers represent data for individual countries or territories within each region. Large blue markers represent population-weighted averages for each region.

Source: OECD calculations, based on Gallup World Poll.