According to a Gallup poll, the people of Greece remained the most pessimistic in the world about the direction of their lives in 2012. With an austerity ravaged economy, mass public sector layoffs and a 27 percent unemployment rate, Greek doubts about the future come as little surprise.
Interestingly, the highest levels of pessimism worldwide can be found in Europe. Apart from Greece, Czechia has the world’s second most pessimistic population at 33 percent while Slovenia rounds off the top three with a 32 percent pessimism rate.
Hungary came fourth on the list of doom and gloom while Haiti and Taiwan were in fifth and sixth place respectively. The prevalence of pessimism in Europe can be attributed primarily to the choking economic crisis where many people say no end to depressing and harsh austerity measures.