Mediterranean countries are known for their relaxed lifestyle but a poll finds Greeks and Italians among the most stressed in Europe.
ADVERTISEMENTMediterranean countries are known for their relaxed lifestyle but Greece and Italy are among the most stressed nations in Europe, according to a survey of worldwide happiness.
The Gallup 2019 Global Emotions poll revealed 59% of Greeks had experienced stress in the past 24 hours, the highest rate in the world.
Albania (55%), Cyprus (51%), Italy (48%) and Portugal (45%) were the next highest in Europe, suggesting that sunshine and a healthy diet don’t prevent other daily concerns.
Ukraine and Estonia (18%) were the least stressed nations, along with Latvia and Denmark (20%).
The annual survey is based on a snapshot of positive and negative daily experiences gathered from more than 151,000 interviews with adults in over 140 countries in 2018.
It also found that Spain and Italy were Europe’s angriest nations, with 30% of respondents there experiencing anger in the past day.
Northwestern Europe experiences the most enjoyment, with 87% of those in Denmark and The Netherlands reporting the most pleasure, just ahead of Sweden and Norway (86%) and the UK (83%), while Lithuania (43%) experienced the least.
The survey also found that Norwegians were the most likely to have learned something new in the past 24 hours (70%) while the Dutch (83%) were most likely to have laughed or smiled.
Overall, it found world happiness had taken a negative during 2018, adding to a similar downturn in 2017.