With civil wars in Myanmar and Sudan, climate change manifestations the world over, instability across the Middle East, and geopolitical tensions abounding in East Asia, Europe, and North America, one would imagine the global population to have a pessimistic outlook on things.

But the annual Gallup Life Evaluation Index found that “men and women, young and old,” consider themselves to be thriving in larger numbers than any other time in the past.

Asked to rank their lives on a scale of 0 to 10, with 4 and below classified as suffering, 5 to 6 as struggling, and 7-10 as thriving, a third of the surveyed population spread across 142 nations described themselves as currently thriving.

Additionally, the outlook on the next 5 years is as high as it’s ever been, with an average score of 7.9.

Unlike metrics of GPD, which predominantly measure economic output and, as a result, capture somewhat the standard of living in a country, self-reported metrics of thriving or suffering can give greater clarity as to exactly whether that wealth is leading to a more prosperous society or not.

“Rates of thriving have risen consistently across demographics. Men and women, young and old, all now rate their lives better than they did in the past,” Gallup wrote in their executive summary.

“As thriving has increased, rates of suffering have inched downward. In 2024, a median of 7% globally were classed as suffering in life, matching the lowest point on record going back to 2007, and significantly lower than a decade ago (12% in 2014).”

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A population-weighted average showed 28% of respondents thriving, down from 33%, affected by more respondents in countries with larger populations.

Declines in thriving seen in some wealthy countries were offset and overrun by increases in Latin America and the Caribbean (45%), East and South Europe (37%), East (34%) and Southeast Asia (32%) and Post-Soviet Eurasia (33%)—all of which have seen steady increases in thriving over time.

12 countries experienced particularly enormous rises in self-reported thriving of 20% or more over the last decade, including 3 in Asia (Mongolia, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan,) 8 in Europe (Lithuania, Estonia, Kosovo, Armenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia), and Paraguay.

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Many of the increases in self-reported thriving correlate with the increases in Human Development Index metrics such as average years of child schooling and perceived freedoms. The HDI also happened to rise on average around the world since 2008.

“The world is not short of significant challenges, from climate change to conflicts and technological upheaval,” the Gallup authors wrote. “Yet even against this backdrop, more people across more countries say they are living better lives today and are hopeful for tomorrow, and fewer are suffering.”

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