Who Are the Happiest People in the World?

A new Gallup Poll sought to find which group of people in the world are the happiest.  Guess what they found?  Latin Americans came out on top as the most positive people in the world.  150,000 people in 148 countries around the globe were polled and asked if they felt that they were well rested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed, and had done  something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment the previous day.

85% of people in Panama and Paraguay who were polled answered yes to all five of those questions, putting them at the top of the leader board for happiness. El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica were also in the top 10 respectively.

I bet you're wondering which countries had the most miserable people?  Singapore was the worst followed by Armenia, Iraq, Georgia and Yemen.

Here's the most interesting part, the findings aren't tied to economics because Panama, which ranks 90^th in the world with respect to GDP (Gross Domestic Product)  per capita, are the most likely people to report positive emotions. Opposite of Panama, those who live in Singapore, which ranks fifth in the world in terms of GDP per capita, are the least likely to report positive emotions.

So what's the happiness secret of Latin Americans?  Who knows, but I'm chalking it up to a positive attitude culture and plenty of sunshine.