Kiwis are fairly chilled out and happy with their lot in life, according to a new worldwide survey.
But they're not as chilled as people in Estonia, Mexico and Finland, nor enjoying life like Paraguayans and the Chinese.
Polling company Gallup surveyed 151,000 people in more than 140 countries to find out just how the world is coping with modern life. They asked questions like, 'did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?', 'Did you experience... physical pain?' and 'Were you treated with respect all day?'
Topping the 'positive index' - meaning their citizens gave more affirmative responses to questions about happiness, enjoyment and learning - were Paraguay, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Indonesia, Honduras, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia.
"As they do year after year, Latin American countries dominated the list," Gallup's report said, citing the region's "cultural tendency... to focus on life's positives".
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At the other end of the scale were Afghanistan, Belarus, Yemen, Turkey, Lithuania, Nepal, Northern Cyprus, Bangladesh, Chad and Egypt.
"Several of the countries and regions with the worst scores on the Positive Experience Index were going through some type of turmoil - political, economic and otherwise - in 2018," said Gallup.
The 'negative index' measured citizens' stress, pain and worry levels. Topping the list was Africa's landlocked Chad, which has been plagued with violence and war for decades. It's followed by neighbour Niger, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Iran, Benin, Liberia, Guinea, Palestine and Congo.
The least-negative country was Taiwan, followed by Singapore, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Poland, Mongolia, Estonia, Sweden, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
New Zealand didn't place in the top or bottom five for any emotions. Only 9 percent said they had felt anger in the previous day, just behind the remarkably relaxed nations of Estonia, Mexico, Finland Mauritius and Singapore.
Sixteen percent of Kiwis reported sadness, well behind Taiwan's 5 percent and Sweden's 12 percent.
We're middle of the pack when it comes to stress, worry and being well-rested, and near the top in terms of smiling, being treated with respect, learning new things and avoiding physical pain.
New Zealand's 11th in enjoyment was the closest it came to a top 10 placing, behind Norway, China, Uruguay and Mexico.
Newshub.
