People More Likely to Have a Bad Day in Muslim and Socialist Countries

Maybe it’s the sand. And the other sand. Or maybe it’s the camels giving you the eye. Or maybe it’s all the beheadings, but people are least likely to have a good day in the Middle East.

That’s what the Pew survey says.

 Africans and Latin Americans were more likely to say it was a good day (47% and 43%, respectively) and certain countries stand out for their more positive responses. For example, around half or more in Nigeria (58%), Colombia (57%), Nicaragua (53%), Kenya (52%) and Brazil (51%) said their day was particularly good. (For full results by country, see here).

The U.S. is also one of the more upbeat countries when it comes to describing the day. Overall, 41% of Americans said the day was a good one, with nearly half (49%) saying the day was typical. Only 8% of Americans professed to having a bad day.

Meanwhile, bad days were more common in Egypt (32% said it was a particularly bad day) and Jordan (27%) than in any other country, and the Middle East had slightly more bad day responses compared to other regions.

A third of Egypt appears to be having a lot of bad days, followed by Jordan and Ghana, a country with a 32% Muslim population. In fifth place is the Socialist motherland of Venezuela.

Islam and Socialism don’t make their adherents happy.