The two countries with the highest scores on the index were Afghanistan and Lebanon, followed by Iraq in third place, Sierra Leone in fourth, and Jordan in fifth.
Gallup’s Negative Experience Index measures people’s everyday experiences of grief, stress, anxiety, anger, and physical pain. Its findings reveal that life is getting harder in Afghanistan and Lebanon, where people suffer more than anyplace else on the earth.
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia,” the president of the International Federation of Lebanese Businessmen and Women, Fouad Zamakhel, claimed that the index’s outcome is a concrete representation of the suffering endured by Lebanese people, which has had an impact on their mental health. He also noted that Lebanon consistently achieves the highest rankings in all categories involving catastrophic numbers and inflation.
Zamakhel asserts that there are a number of statistics that support the Lebanese people’s placement in this predicament, including the fact that they lost more than 85% of their deposits, which symbolise “the misery of life,” and that they also lost 85% of their income and 85% of their standard of living as a result of the economic and financial crisis that the nation has been experiencing for almost three years.
major retreat
Zamkahel continued, “The Lebanese are also suffering from inflation in prices and their cost of living, which has increased by 20 to 30 times, and they feel that what happened to them “destroyed their lives” and brought them back to zero with “the stroke of a pen” until they lack the most fundamental human needs, like hospitalisation and education.”
For his part, Iraqi economic expert Hazem Hadi stated in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that the five nations that ranked first in the index of negative experiences are experiencing an economic downturn. Some of these nations also experience a persistent decline in the value of their domestic currencies relative to foreign currencies, which breeds unrest and unease among the populace.
Hadi asserts that the aforementioned nations can be saved from the “edge of the abyss” by implementing anti-corruption reforms. He emphasises the necessity of reforms that take into account the social, political, and economic needs of societies, rather than just being words on a piece of paper.
Hadi thinks that the situation in some Arab countries is deteriorating day by day, affecting the quality of healthcare and education, as well as raising unemployment and poverty levels, as all of these factors have contributed to the brain drain and making a significant portion of the population who are still there feel worse about their living and psychological circumstances.
Three Arab countries are leading the world in negative emotional experiences.
About Author
