Is the world getting less miserable?
Exploring global polling data from Gallup that suggests people in more countries are "thriving"
When you follow the news, particularly in countries like the UK and the US, it sometimes feels like people are less optimistic about their lives than they were in the past.
But a new piece of analysis from polling company Gallup suggests this might just be the local view, not the global one.
Using data from the Gallup World Poll, it suggests that 鈥減eople in more countries are living better lives and expressing more hope for the future鈥 than at any point in the last decade.
Tim Harford speaks to Gallup鈥檚 Benedict Vigers, who wrote the report, to understand what improvements in the 鈥済lobal median for thriving鈥 really means.
If you鈥檝e seen a number in the news you think we should look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Tim Harford
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Bob Nettles
Editor: Richard Vadon
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- Sat 4 Oct 2025 04:50GMT麻豆社 World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Sat 4 Oct 2025 17:50GMT麻豆社 World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
- Sun 5 Oct 2025 04:50GMT麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa
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