Amid the hardships the Philippines is facing — the coronavirus disease, the skyrocketing prices of goods and fuel and the seemingly never-ending saga of making ends meet — a recent survey regarded the Philippines as the happiest country in the world in 2022.

The 2022 End of Year Survey of Gallup International Association disclosed on Friday that out of 34 countries covered by the survey, the Philippines takes the top spot with a net score of 75 percent, with Mexico, Malaysia, Afghanistan, and Ecuador completing the Top 5.

It also revealed that while a high 39 percent of Filipinos are hopeful that 2023 will be better than 2022, some 52 percent say it will just be the same while another 5 percent said that it will be worse.
The four percent of respondents, on the other hand, are still unsure of things to expect next year.

Nigeria, Pakistan are the top 2 most hopeful nations in the world, with Kazakhstan (3), Philippines (4) and India (5) completing the top 5.

The research showed the global average of optimism is at -2 percent — meaning, most of the world continues to doubt progress in 2023.

European countries are the least optimistic about 2023, with Poland, Czech Republic, Serbia, France, and Italy as the countries with the lowest level optimism.

The survey also showed that there is prevailing uncertainty about the economic future of the Philippines as majority of Filipinos at 49 percent are uneasy with the current economic situation, while 34 percent are optimistic about the economic prosperity in 2023.