Middle East and North African region ranks lowest for 'positive experience'

The Gallup 2017 Global Emotions Report provides global leaders, economists, and political scientists an alternative perspective towards human behavior and emotion by aiming to capture the general mood of countries.  

Through surveying 142 nations, scientists based their research on two indexes; positive and negative experiences. 

By measuring feelings and emotions as opposed to employment and GDP, leaders across the world may gain more valuable information about a nation's mental and physical health. 

Many countries in the Arab world have been facing political turmoil and humanitarian crises for decades. These issues have had a large impact on people's emotions and behaviors, thus contributing to a society's condition as a whole. 

Here are how some Arab countries scored.

According to the report, the MENA region has continuously earned the lowest score on the Positive Experience Index. 2016 was the only exception to that trend, as that's when the region got the same low score of 63 percent as post-Soviet states.

Arab countries with the lowest score include Yemen, Turkey, and Iraq. 

Gallup attributed these findings to internal and external conflicts as "personal freedom and the presence of social networks are highly related to scores on the Positive Experience Index".

For the fifth time since 2011, Iraq tops the Negative Experience Index with a score of 58 percent. This low score is due to the fact that half of Iraqis experienced negative emotions the previous day.

Many Iraqis felt "worry (63%), physical pain (60%), stress (59%), and sadness (57%) the previous day, and half of Iraqi's (49%) were angry," according to the report.

Unfortunately, this is no surprise. 

Since 1979, Iraq has faced relentless dictatorship, bombings, two large wars, a U.S.-led invasion, ISIS' intrusion, and 2,670 casualties in 2017 alone, according to United Nations Agencies in Iraq.

However, amidst these negative experiences, Iraqis are not the most stressed or worried population in the world. Greece holds the title as the most stressed in the world as 67 percent of Greeks felt stressed the previous day.  

Although the MENA region as a whole achieved the lowest score on the Positive Experience Index, most of the GCC states scored above-average.

Gallup attributed these results to the oil wealth of the GCC countries which provides political and economic stability.

GCC states such as the United Arab Emirates take happiness seriously. 

Since 2016, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has appointed a Minister of State for Happiness, and established a World Happiness Council.