*** Saudi, Pakistan, India among happiest countries in the world | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Saudi, Pakistan, India among happiest countries in the world

The happiest country in the world is Colombia, and the unhappiest country is Iraq.

AdTech AdBangladesh, China, Nigeria, Fiji and Morocco are the most hopeful nations, while Italy is the least hopeful.

The findings are from a new study conducted by WIN/Gallup International Association that interviewed people from 68 countries.

A happy world in 2015

Looking back at the previous year, 66% of respondents to the WIN/Gallup International survey say that they were happy, down slightly from 70% in 2014. Of the 66,040 people surveyed, 10% said that they were unhappy, up 4% from 2014.

Overall that means that the world is 56% happy.

Furthermore the study states that 1 out of 2 persons (approx. 54%) believes 2016 will be better than 2015. On the other hand 16% think it will be worse and 24% say 2016 won't be any different from 2015.

Jean-Marc Leger, President of WIN/Gallup International Association, said: "2015 has been a tumultuous year for many across the globe, despite that the world remains largely a happy place. 45% of the world is optimistic regarding the economic outlook for 2016, up by 3 per cent compared to last year."

TOP 10 HAPPY COUNTRIES (Starting from most optimistic/ happiest)

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Colombia (85%)

Fiji (82%)

Saudi Arabia (82%)

Azerbaijan (81%)

Vietnam (80%)

Argentina (79%)

Panama (79%)

Mexico (76%)

Ecuador (75%)

China/Iceland (74%)

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WIN/Gallup International grouped the world into three tiers: Prosperous (the G7); Emerging (G20 excluding the original G7) and Aspiring (all others) nations.

The nations on the Prosperous list display the least hope and economic optimism with 6% and -16% respectively; in contrast Emerging nations are hopeful and far more optimistic at 50% and 36%; the Aspiring nations sit between the two on hope and economic optimism at  29% and 16% respectively.

Bangladesh (74%)

China (70%)

Nigeria (68%)

Fiji (61%)

Morocco (57%)

Saudi Arabia (56%)

Vietnam (55%)

Argentina (53%)

India (47%)

Pakistan (42%)

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Nigeria tops the list as the most optimistic country about economic prosperity in 2016. In contrast, Greece is the most pessimistic (-65% net optimistic) country.

Nigeria (61%)

Bangladesh (60%)

China (54%)

Vietnam (53%)

Pakistan (50%)

India (44%)

Morocco (44%)

Fiji (39%)

Saudi Arabia (32%)

Argentina (28%)