Thursday, June 21, 2012 Updated 04:00 AM ET

Greece

Iraqis the most negative worldwide
Iraqis are more likely to experience negative emotions on a daily basis than any other population in the world. Palestinians are a distant second.

Migrants' financial wellbeing improves as their length of stay increases
Migrants across 15 EU countries rate their present and future lives worse than those born in those countries. Migrants' overall emotional and financial situations are also less positive than those of the native born.

Bulgaria and Yemen lead the world in suffering
An average of 13% of adults worldwide rated their lives poorly enough to be "suffering" in 2011. Suffering ranged from 45% in Bulgaria to 1% or less in the United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Thailand, and Brazil.

Faith in banks and financial institutions remains low
Europeans' and Americans' confidence in their financial institutions has followed a similar trajectory throughout the global economic crisis, suggesting a strong link between the two struggling economies.

In most countries, pluralities say it is a bad time to find a job
A median of 12% of EU residents in 2011 said it was a good time to find a job where they live, while a median of 80% said it was a bad time. Residents of Greece were most pessimistic, while Germans were most optimistic.

A median of 36% confident in government; 43% confident in financial institutions
Europeans had little faith in their national governments and financial institutions in 2011 compared with other key institutions, likely reflecting dissatisfaction with the economic turmoil gripping the EU. Europeans trusted their military (69%) and honesty of elections (59%) the most.

Greeks, Spaniards, Italians say their governments make it hard to start and manage businesses
Residents in some of the EU's most debt-laden countries are also among the most likely to say their government makes it hard to start and manage a business. The climate for entrepreneurs is most inhospitable in Greece, where more than 8 in 10 residents see their government as an obstacle.

Standard of living perceived as "getting worse" across much of EU
More Europeans are "suffering" than "thriving" in several countries hard-hit by the financial crisis. More than one in five residents rate their lives poorly enough to be considered suffering in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, and Portugal.

Greeks are by far the most negative; pessimism soars Portugal and Italy
Views about local economic situations are deteriorating in several EU countries hard-hit by the European debt crisis, including Italy and Portugal. Those in Greece, Portugal, and Ireland are among the most negative, while views in Finland, Germany, Luxembourg are the most positive.

Fewer than one in five Greeks have confidence in their national government, financial institutions
Greeks' confidence in their country's national government hit an all-time low of 18% earlier this year, and their faith in their financial institutions has fallen sharply since 2005. Neither trend bodes well for Greece's economic restructuring and recovery.

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