Positive psychology statistics offer a population-level view of experiences often associated with wellbeing: enjoyment, laughter, rest, learning, social support, gratitude, awe and meaning. Recent surveys show a worldwide Positive Experience Index score of 72 in 2024, while U.S. studies document high reported levels of gratitude and awe as well as differences in access to emotional support.
Contents
- Global positive experience over time
- Daily positive emotions worldwide
- Countries with the highest and lowest scores
- Age, learning and interest
- Social and emotional support in the U.S.
- Gratitude, awe and meaning in the U.S.
Global positive experience over time
Gallup’s Positive Experience Index is a 0–100 score based on reported positive experiences. It is an index score, not a percentage. Gallup asks adults about experiences during much of the previous day, so the measure describes recent daily experience rather than a diagnosis or a permanent personal trait.
The worldwide index moved through the following annual values:
| Year | Worldwide Positive Experience Index |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 71 |
| 2021 | 69 |
| 2022 | 70 |
| 2023 | 71 |
| 2024 | 72 |
The highest value in this five-year sequence was 72 in 2024. The lowest was 69 in 2021. Gallup’s Global Indicator: Emotional Wellbeing reports these annual global index values. The figures describe the reported level for each measurement year; they do not by themselves identify why the score changed.
The 2024 result is best read alongside the component measures behind everyday positive experience. Those measures show that positive moments were common worldwide, although they were not reported by every adult and did not occur at the same frequency across all experiences.
Daily positive emotions worldwide
Gallup’s 2024 global emotions reporting asked adults about what happened during much of the previous day. The questions cover distinct experiences, so the percentages should not be added together or treated as a single combined wellbeing score.
- Respect: 88% of adults worldwide said they were treated with respect during much of the previous day.
- Smiling or laughter: 73% said they smiled or laughed a lot.
- Enjoyment: 73% said they experienced enjoyment.
- Feeling rested: 72% said they felt well-rested.
- Learning or doing something interesting: 52% said they learned or did something interesting.
Respect was the most widely reported of these five experiences in 2024. Smiling or laughter and enjoyment had the same reported level, at 73%, while feeling well-rested was reported by 72%. Learning or doing something interesting was reported by just over half of adults worldwide, making it the least common measure in this group.
These figures are descriptive population statistics. A response about the previous day captures a recent experience and should not be interpreted as proof that a person usually feels positive, nor as evidence that any particular activity causes wellbeing. The measures are useful for comparing broad patterns, but each percentage retains its own wording and reference period.
Source: State of the World’s Emotional Health Report from Gallup, 2024. The index background is documented in Global Indicator: Emotional Wellbeing.
Countries with the highest and lowest scores
Gallup’s 2023 country results show a wide spread in Positive Experience Index scores among the countries listed in the report. Paraguay and Panama tied for the highest reported country score at 86. Guatemala followed at 85, while Mexico and Indonesia each recorded 84.
| Country | 2023 Positive Experience Index |
|---|---|
| Paraguay | 86 |
| Panama | 86 |
| Guatemala | 85 |
| Mexico | 84 |
| Indonesia | 84 |
| El Salvador | 83 |
| Costa Rica | 83 |
| Malaysia | 82 |
| Bangladesh | 56 |
| Sierra Leone | 56 |
| Ukraine | 56 |
| Egypt | 55 |
| Ethiopia | 55 |
| Nepal | 55 |
| Lithuania | 54 |
At the lower end of this listed group, Lithuania’s 2023 score was 54. Egypt, Ethiopia and Nepal each recorded 55, while Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Ukraine each recorded 56. These figures are index scores on the Positive Experience Index scale, not percentages of residents who are happy or satisfied.
The country comparison also needs geographic and methodological care. A country’s score summarizes responses collected for that country in 2023; it is not a ranking of every aspect of quality of life, and the figures do not establish that national culture, policy or a particular behavior caused the observed result. The appropriate interpretation is narrower: respondents in the named countries produced the reported Positive Experience Index scores for that measurement year.
Source: GALLUP GLOBAL EMOTIONS 2024, reporting 2023 country results.
Age, learning and interest
Learning or doing something interesting was one of Gallup’s worldwide daily experience measures. In 2023, 54% of adults worldwide said they learned or did something interesting during the previous day. Gallup described this as a record high in its series. The statement refers to the series reported for that measure and year; it does not mean that 54% learned something every day throughout the year.
Reported learning and interest varied by age group among worldwide adults in 2023:
- Ages 15–29: 59% said they learned or did something interesting the previous day.
- Ages 30–49: 54% reported the experience.
- Ages 50 and older: 50% reported the experience.
Gallup’s 2023 global Positive Experience Index score for adults younger than 30 was 74. That index score and the learning percentage measure different things: the first summarizes positive experiences across the index, while the second concerns one specific previous-day experience.
Country results for learning or interest also varied. In Senegal, 79% of adults said they learned or did something interesting the previous day in 2023. The corresponding figure was 59% in China and 52% in India. At the other end of the supplied country results, 17% of adults in Afghanistan and 17% of adults in Bangladesh reported the experience.
The age figures do not explain the country differences, and the country figures do not predict what any individual will experience. They show how a single daily-experience question produced different population percentages across age groups and countries during the stated measurement period.
Social and emotional support in the U.S.
The CDC’s estimates describe the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adult population and were collected during July–December 2020. In that period, 77.5% of U.S. adults said they always or usually received the needed social and emotional support. The two response categories were reported separately as well: 52.4% said they always received needed support, and 25.1% said they usually received it.
Other responses show that support was not universal. During the same period, 12.2% of U.S. adults said they sometimes received needed social and emotional support, while 6.0% said they never received it. These categories describe reported frequency and should not be conflated with the broader 77.5% estimate for always or usually receiving support.
The CDC also reported age-group estimates for always or usually receiving needed support:
- Ages 18–34: 80.0%
- Ages 35–49: 75.9%
- Ages 50–64: 74.4%
- Ages 65 and older: 79.5%
Among the supplied demographic results, 81.2% of non-Hispanic White U.S. adults said they always or usually received needed social and emotional support. This figure uses a specific racial and ethnic category and should not be generalized to all U.S. adults or treated as a measure of support quality.
Because these estimates were collected in July–December 2020, they should be labeled with that period when used. They are not current-year estimates and do not measure the effect of a positive psychology intervention. Source: Products - Data Briefs - Number 420, CDC, October 2021.
Gratitude, awe and meaning in the U.S.
The 2023–24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study measured several spiritual and meaning-related experiences among U.S. adults. Frequency categories matter: “at least weekly,” “monthly or yearly,” and “at least several times a year” are not interchangeable.
| Experience | At least weekly | At least several times a year |
|---|---|---|
| Awe at nature | 61% | 93% |
| Strong gratitude or thankfulness | 62% | 91% |
The study also found that 46% of U.S. adults thought about life’s meaning and purpose at least weekly, while 38% thought about it monthly or yearly. Those are separate frequency categories, not values to combine. Together, they show that the survey recorded different levels of regularity for reflection on meaning.
Other reported weekly experiences included deep wonder about the universe at 41%, deep spiritual peace and wellbeing at 40%, and a deep connection with humanity at 34%. One-third of U.S. adults felt the presence of something beyond this world at least weekly.
These results describe how U.S. adults answered questions in the 2023–24 study. They do not establish that gratitude, awe, spiritual peace, reflection or connection causes a particular mental-health outcome. They do show that experiences frequently discussed in positive psychology and related wellbeing conversations were reported at measurable levels in a national adult survey.
Source: Feelings of spiritual peace, wonder, gratitude & awe in the US, Pew Research Center, 2023–24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study.