Title: A rising tide lifts mood in the developing world
Description: The planet is a happier place these days, at least in many parts of the world where incomes are low and life is tough ... but economies are improving. In particular, as economic growth has surged in much of Latin America, East Europe and Asia over the past five years, people are expressing greater satisfaction with their personal lives, family incomes and national conditions. The picture is considerably different in most advanced nations, where per capita GDP gains have been less robust and citizen satisfaction has changed little since 2002. The Pew Global Attitudes Project's 47-nation survey finds that measures of personal and economic satisfaction remain modest in the developing world when compared with measures for advanced nations, but this gap has narrowed. The increasing contentment in developing nations is clearly correlated with sizable increases in per capita gross domestic product that, in most cases, far outpaced the rate of growth prior to 2002.
Subjects: Public opinion, Modern Civilization, World politics, Terrorism
Time periods: 21st century