Georgian Economic Optimists

The FINANCIAL — As you’re reading this column the new year has begun, and Georgians across the country are looking forward to 2013 as a year of economic hope.  In fact, they are more hopeful about their economic futures on average than Europeans, South and North Americans, Africans, and Asians all.  This isn’t because the rest of the world is overly pessimistic, either. 

In fact, the world has become more optimistic about its economic future on average since last year, moving 9 points from a net Economic Hope index of -2% in 2011 to a positive 7% in 2012.  Georgians enjoyed an even greater jump from last year, however, by moving from a 43% to a 63%.  These indices are generated simply – by subtracting the number of economically pessimistic respondents from the hopeful.  In Georgia’s case, 69% of respondents predicted a better 2013, and 6% predicted difficulty.

Georgia’s peers at the top of the list include its neighbors in Azerbaijan, as well as other developing countries from around the world: Brazil, Mozambique, and China are the remaining top 5 most economically hopeful.   You should notice a lack of western countries among the most hopeful countries; Europe makes up a majority of the least hopeful countries instead.  The Portuguese are incredibly pessimistic, 87% predict economic difficulty and only 2% are hopeful.  Following the Portuguese index of -85% are France, Belgium, Spain and Bosnia in the bottom 5.  Other western countries in the top 10 gloomiest list are Ireland, Germany, Poland, and the UK, all of whose indices are below -40%.

Happy Pessimists  — Notwithstanding views about the economy, a majority of the world (53%) say they feel happy about their life. Responding to a question: “As far as you are concerned, do you personally feel happy, unhappy, or neither happy nor unhappy about your life?” 53% said they felt happy, 13% said the opposite, and 32% felt neither way. Georgians were similarly happy, 54% said they feel happy about their lives, 37% said they were neither happy nor unhappy, and only 4% they were unhappy.  The global barometer of Hope and Happiness shows that a large number of people refuse to be gloomy despite their view that economic prospects are poor.

These data come from the most recent Global Barometer – an annual poll carried out by members of the world’s largest independent network of opinion pollsters, WIN-Gallup International.  This year’s poll was carried out in over 54 countries, among more than 55,817 men and women, covering a vast majority of world population. The network has conducted this poll every year for the past 35, since 1977.  Georgian Opinion Research Business International was the local partner firm and was responsible for the 1000 Georgians included in the sample.