Mapped: Countries Experiencing the Most Negative Emotions

Mapped: Countries With The Highest Negative Emotions

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On a global level, in 2023 people experienced an annual decline in negative emotions for the first time since 2014. While this is good news, unfavorable emotions all remain higher than they were a decade ago.

In this graphic, we use data from Gallupโ€™s Global Emotions 2024 report to explore the countries where people report having negative experiences most often.

The Worst Countries in the Ranking

To determine how common negative emotions were within a country, Gallup asked people whether they felt physical pain, worry, sadness, stress, or anger during the previous day.

Country-level scores range from zero to 100, with 100 indicating the highest possible level of negative experiences. The overall world score was 31.

Country Score (Max is 100)
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea 53
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad 51
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone 50
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo 49
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraq 49
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan 48
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan 47
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel 47
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia 47
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin 45
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Comoros 45
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger 45
Northern Cyprus 45

Northern Cyprus is a disputed territory and has been included based on the sourceโ€™s data.

Unsurprisingly, the regions and areas experiencing the most negative experiences are those facing economic and political turmoil or military conflicts. Guinea has had a military government since a coup in 2021, and has faced intermittent deadly protests. Unfortunately, more than half of those surveyed in Guinea reported feeling worry (65%), physical pain (59%), sadness (52%) and stress (52%).

Israel became one of the countries with the most negative emotions in 2023, having been surveyed just two weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks. The countryโ€™s increase in negative experiences was substantial, considering Israel had one of the lowest scores on this index in 2022.

The Connection Between Negative Emotions and Loneliness

Apart from obvious contributors like war, health problems, and an inability to afford food, loneliness also contributed to negative experiences. People who reported feeling lonely a lot of the previous day were more likely to feel other negative emotions.

Experienced loneliness a lot of the previous day Did not experience loneliness a lot of the previous day
Experienced anger 43% 17%
Experienced sadness 54% 18%
Experienced stress 60% 30%
Experienced worry 64% 33%
Experienced physical pain 46% 26%

Those who said they felt lonely were also less likely to experience positive emotions.

More Emotion Facts From Visual Capitalist

If you enjoyed this article check out Mapped: Countries With the Highest Positive Emotions to see which countries felt well-rested, treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting, or felt joy.

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