Pinoys most emotional, Singaporeans emotionless

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines topped the list of most emotional societies in the world, revealing the Filipinos’ expressive nature and how they feel about their lives.

A Bloomberg BusinessWeek report said US pollster Gallup surveyed more than 140 countries. The Philippines garnered a 60 percent rating, followed by El Salvador with 57 percent and Bahrain with 56 percent, for second and third place, respectively.

Oman and Colombia were tied in fourth spot with 55 percent while Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua and the United States all received 54 percent and ranked fifth on the list.

Meanwhile, Singapore was named “the world’s most emotionless society” with 36 percent, closely followed by Georgia and Lithuania at 37 percent. Russia, Madagascar, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Nepal were all tied at 38 percent.

Gallup asked respondents to evaluate their life on a scale of zero to 10 and answer questions such as: Did you feel well rested yesterday? Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Did you experience enjoyment, physical pain, worry, sadness, stress and anger?

“If you measure Singapore by the traditional indicators, they look like one of the best-run countries in the world... But if you look at everything that makes life worth living, they’re not doing so well,” said Jon Clifton, a Gallup partner in Washington.

The study also showed that the Danes were the most satisfied people while those from Togo in West Africa were most discontented. The Greeks, on the other hand, were the most pessimistic due to the euro crisis.

The result of the survey was in conflict with Columbia University’s Earth Institute 2012 World Happiness report that ranked the Philippines as among the “least happy” countries in the world based on good health, political freedom and access to education, among others.