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Miami Herald
4 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Record share of people ‘thriving' globally — but North America is outlier: poll
The share of people worldwide who say they are thriving in life reached a record high in 2024, according to the latest Gallup poll. But, despite the general rise in global well-being, some regions — including North America — remain distinct outliers. These findings come from Gallup's most recent Life Evaluation Index, which sampled approximately 1,000 adults in 142 countries. Respondents were asked to rate their current and future lives on a 0-10 scale, with those scoring seven or higher for the present and eight or higher for the future considered 'thriving.' Meanwhile, those scoring four or less for both were labeled 'suffering,' and everyone in between was classified as 'struggling.' In 2024, a median of 33% of respondents across the sampled countries classified themselves as thriving. This marks the highest global share of thriving individuals ever recorded since 2007, the year Gallup began this survey. By comparison, in 2023, a median of 31% of respondents said they were thriving, and in 2022, 30% said the same. This trend of steadily increasing well-being has been present for the past two decades. 'Rates of thriving have risen consistently across demographics,' Gallup noted. 'Men and women, young and old, all now rate their lives better than they did in the past.' At the same time, the share of people classified as suffering has decreased to a median of 7%, matching the record-low reached in 2020. However, the rise in life satisfaction has not been consistent across the world. Several regions — North America, Western Europe and Australia and New Zealand — have trended downward. In North America, home to the U.S., a median of 49% of respondents reported thriving in 2024. While this is up 2 points from last year, it remains well below previous highs, including the 61% recorded in 2017. Similarly, a median of 42% of respondents in Western Europe reported thriving in 2024. This is down from 44% in 2023, and down from a record-high 59% in 2019. The global increase, then, is attributed to elevated well-being in most of the remaining regions, including Latin America, East and South Europe and Southeast Asia. It's difficult to pinpoint what factors are responsible for this trend, but Gallup notes that increased living standards, economic optimism and satisfaction with personal freedoms could play a role.
UPI
29-07-2025
- General
- UPI
Gallup survey: People feel they're living better lives on global scale
July 29 (UPI) -- People around the world apparently feel that they are living better lives than they have in years and are more hopeful for the future, according to Gallup. The global analytics and advisory firm released its Life Evaluation Index on Tuesday, which is based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. The scale asks those polled to first "Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top," with the top of the ladder representing "the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you." It then asks, "On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?" and then "On which step do you think you will stand about five years from now?" In 2024, Gallup asked adults across 142 countries to rate their lives, and a median of 33% rated their lives well enough to be classified as "thriving," which demonstrates a trend of improvements in life evaluation that has risen for more than a decade. This does differ from the 28% population-weighted average of global residents who feel that they are thriving, which leans more toward nations with larger populations, but not enough to affect the overall upward average that has been seen over the past 15 years. Gallup further notes that the global medium tracks closely and remains higher than what was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that the 2024 median score was 5.9 out of 10, which is close to the 2022 and 2023 findings but higher than most high points noted over the 15-year study. According to the Gallup findings, the lowest point was 2008, when only 20% reported to be thriving. The median 2024 future life rating was 7.2 out of 10, which is actually a tick lower than the 2020 7.3 peak recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. As for those who rate their lives as "suffering," that number crested at 12% from 2012 to 2014, but accordingly, 2024 came in at its lowest point, at 7%.
