Panamanians Among The Happiest People On Earth.

A Gallup poll released on December 19, 2012, reveals that the people of Panama and Paraguay tie for first place among the nations that are most likely to report being happy and having a positive attitude towards life. In contrast, those who live in well-established economies such as wealthy, business-oriented Singapore are among the least happy people on Earth.

In order to carry out their happiness poll , the Gallup organization called approximately 1,000 people in 148 countries and asked about their experiences the day before. Among other things, people were asked if they smiled a lot yesterday, if they felt respected all day, if they were well-rested and if they learned or accomplished something interesting.

The countries that reported the highest rates of “yes” answers to these questions were Panama and Paraguay, with an 85 percent positive rate each. El Salvador and Venezuela were next, followed by Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

The United States scored in the top half of the poll, at position number 33. Some other wealthy Western nations, such as Germany and France, were near the middle, tying for 47th spot with Somaliland, a relatively poor African region of Somalia.

The poll found the least happy residents in the world were in Singapore, a palm-studded, tropical land with a thriving economy and an impressive per-capita GDP comparable to that of any leading Western European nation.  But according to many residents, the balance between work and play is heavily lopsided towards the former: they feel overworked and underpaid, with very little time to simply relax and enjoy life or take a holiday.