Cambodia among the top three ... in SUFFERING

Suffering in South Asia Highest in Region

Highest suffering is in Nepal and Afghanistan; lowest in Thailand

May 28, 2012
By Linda Lyons and Daniela Yu
Gallup world

After decades of conflict and political upheaval, it is not surprising that Cambodia is at the opposite end of the wellbeing spectrum in Southeast Asia, with more than one-quarter of Cambodians (26%) considered suffering. Demands for Cambodian exports lessened considerably during the economic downturn and GDP is among the lowest in Asia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- South Asians rated their lives worse in 2011 than most residents in other parts of Asia. At least one in five residents in Nepal (31%), Afghanistan (30%), India (24%), Sri Lanka (22%), and Pakistan (21%) rated their lives poorly enough to be considered "suffering." Bangladesh is the only South Asian country where suffering is significantly lower than its regional neighbors, at 10%.

Gallup classifies respondents as "thriving," "struggling," or "suffering" according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10 based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. Respondents are not asked to classify their lives according to these labels. Those who rate their present life a 7 or higher on the ladder and their life in five years an 8 or higher are classified as thriving, while those who rate both dimensions a 4 or lower are considered suffering. Respondents whose ratings fall in between are considered struggling.

Gallup: Only 3% have positive views of their present life situation ("thriving" in wellbeing) in Cambodia ... most likely they are the CPP leaders

Scale of wellbeing: A simple-minded view by KI-Media

Suffering:

Struggling:
Thriving:
Daily Experience: Forced evictions

Global Wellbeing Surveys Find Nations Worlds Apart

March 25, 2010
By Cynthia English
Gallup

Ten percent or lower are "thriving" in 41 of 155 countries or areas

Cambodia Survey Result:

• Thriving: 3%
• Struggling: 75%
• Suffering: 22%
• Daily Experience: 7.6

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup's global snapshot of wellbeing reveals a vast divide that underscores the diversity of economic development challenges around the world. The percentage who are "thriving" ranges from a high of 82% in Denmark to a low of 1% in Togo.

Using data collected in 155 countries or areas since 2005, Gallup classifies respondents as "thriving," "struggling," or "suffering," according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale.

Adults within each of the four major regions are often worlds apart in how they evaluate their lives. Africa has the lowest wellbeing; no country in this region has a thriving percentage higher than 25%. In fact, of the 41 countries where the thriving percentage is 10% or lower, more than half are in Africa. Conversely, in the Americas, where "thriving" is highest, the only countries with less than a quarter thriving are Cuba (24%) and Haiti (4%). "Thriving" in the Americas is highest in Costa Rica (63%) and Canada (62%), followed closely by Panama (58%), Brazil (58%), and the United States (57%).

There is a clear wellbeing divide between the wealthier countries of northern, western, and central Europe and some poorer countries within eastern and southern Europe. Self-reported wellbeing is lowest in Bulgaria (6%) and highest in Denmark (82%) and Finland (75%). In several of the largest European economies, like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, wellbeing falls roughly in the middle. Similar disparities are evident in Asia. Thriving is 60% or higher in New Zealand (63%), Israel (62%), and Australia (62%) and 10% or lower in 11 nations. Cambodia rounds out the bottom with 3% "thriving."

Read the complete findings from Gallup's Global Wellbeing report including data for all 155 countries.

For complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150 countries Gallup continually surveys, please contact worldpollpartners@gallup.com or call 202.715.3030.

Survey Methods

Using the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, Gallup measures life satisfaction by asking respondents to place the status of their lives on a "ladder" scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates the worst possible life and 10 the best possible life. Individuals who rate their current lives a "7" or higher AND their future an "8" or higher are "Thriving." Individuals are "Suffering" if they report their current AND future lives as a "4" and lower. All other individuals are "Struggling."

Results are based on face-to-face and telephone interviews with approximately 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted between 2005 and 2009 in 155 countries. For results based on the total samples, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error ranges from ±2.1 percentage points in China to ±5.8 percentage points in Zambia. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Cambodians to Vote, but Dissatisfied With Their Democracy

July 25, 2008
by Julie Ray and Nicole Naurath
Gallup

Voters may be reluctant to risk leadership changeCambodia Democracy Asia

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Gallup Poll of Cambodians shows most voters (74%) are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with the way democracy works in their country, suggesting many may have resigned themselves to the likelihood that longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen's party will coast to re-election Sunday.

Political analysts fear a big win for Hun Sen's Cambodia People's Party (CPP) could potentially deal a blow to the country's multiparty system. Gallup's data suggest Cambodians may be reluctant to risk leadership change. Compared with where they said Cambodia stood at the time of the last national election five years ago, citizens are relatively positive about where they think their country stands today and will stand in the future.

Cambodians' outlook on the state and direction of their nation likely reflect heady economic times in the past 10 years. The country's GDP growth has been robust over the past decade, expanding roughly 10% or more since 2003, and a flood of foreign investment and aid has helped finance a construction boom. In August 2007, 69% of Cambodians told Gallup that economic conditions in the nation were good, and 62% said conditions were getting better.

However, the nation's stellar economic growth has not necessarily generated benefits for all its citizens. Only 37% of Cambodians said the government's economic reforms over the past 10 years are perceived as mostly good for the country, while 29% said they are perceived as mostly bad and 34% had no opinion. What's more, only about a quarter of those with an opinion about the government's reforms said they expected benefits for most (16%) or nearly all (8%) of Cambodians.

Cambodians surveyed also expressed relatively more optimism about their current and future personal situations, but to a lesser degree than they did about their nation's prospects.

That Cambodia remains one of the poorest nations around the globe is evident in the large percentages of residents who said they struggled to afford food and to survive on their earnings -- even before inflation and food prices soared in 2008. Fifty-eight percent of Cambodians said they were unable to buy food for their families at times in the past year, which is the second-highest percentage recorded in Southeast Asia after the Philippines (64%). More than two in three Cambodians said they were finding it difficult (50%) or very difficult (17%) to get by on their household incomes.

Many Cambodians have noticed some improvement in their personal situations, however. While a majority of residents (57%) said they are dissatisfied with their standard of living -- all that they can buy and do -- they were more likely to say their standard of living was getting better (40%) rather than getting worse (23%).

Even if Hun Sen's CPP wins an easy victory Sunday, observers expect maintaining stability in the country may prove difficult given higher overall food prices and soaring inflation gripping so many Asian countries, including Cambodia.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,001 adults living in Cambodia, aged 15 and older, conducted in August 2007. For results based on the total sample of adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.