I Feel Good – Panama #1 in the World!

It is so refreshing to live in Panama where everyone is positive about their life today and their future.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, Panama is #1 in the Global Well Being Poll.  The results are based on a new global version of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The index looks at how people feel about five facets of their lives: sense of purpose, social connections, community, finances and physical vigor.

Panama leads not only the region, but the WORLD in four of the five well-being elements — purpose, social, community, and physical well-being. Sixty-one percent of Panamanians are thriving in three or more elements, 17 percentage points ahead of its second-place neighbor, Costa Rica (44%). Panama’s strong and growing economy, an unemployment rate of 4.5% in 2013, and national development may be the most significant factors contributing to its high thriving levels.

Panamanians truly stand out for positivity: 61% are “thriving” on at least three measures of well-being, Gallup researcher Dan Witters says. The next closest country is Costa Rica at 44%. Six of the top 10 countries are in Latin America.

“That’s not a big surprise, based on what we know and have measured in the past,” Witters says. A previous Gallup poll found Latin Americans in general and Panamanians in particular have the most upbeat attitudes, based on things such as smiling and laughing a lot and enjoying life.

Another recent poll found people in Panama had something to smile about, he says: They were the most likely in the world to say it was a good time to find a job, reflecting a growing economy – driven in part by a Panama Canal expansion under construction.

SEE THE COMPLETE GALLUP POLL REPORT HERE

CLICK HERE TO READ AN ARTICLE  IN USA TODAY ABOUT THE GALLUP RESULTS