Lebanon is 4th most optimistic nation in world

The Gallup International Association ranked Lebanon as the fourth most optimistic country worldwide, with 48% of Lebanese respondents believing that 2009 will be better than 2008, up from 34% in the previous year’s survey. Gallup International's Voice of the People end-of-year survey interviewed 45,700 people in 46 countries about their qualitative expectations for 2009 compared to 2008.
The survey was conducted between October and December 2008, and therefore covered the effects of the global financial crisis.
Lebanon ranked ahead of Colombia, New Zealand, Russia, India, Bahrain and Macedonia, and came behind Kosovo, China and Australia. Results of the survey show that Lebanon was one of the few exceptions that witnessed a growth in optimism compared to last year's survey. Kosovo was the most optimistic country with 60% of the population expecting that 2009 will be better than 2008, and Hong Kong the most pessimistic with 67% of its population expecting that
2009 will be worst than 2008. Globally, the survey showed that 52% of respondents expect 2009 to witness economic difficulties and 66% anticipate an increase in unemployment rates, while 36% expect increased international conflicts and 45% anticipate the same level of global disputes.

Joe Hatem