A third of the world is stressed, angry and worried: Gallup report

People around the world are becoming more angry, stressed and worried, according to a new global survey.

Of some 150,000 people interviewed in over 140 countries, a third said they suffered stress, while at least one in five experienced sadness or anger.

The annual Gallup Global Emotions Report asked people about their positive and negative experiences.

Gallup's 2019 Global Emotions Report, which surveys populations all over the world about their mental wellbeing found that 55 percent of Americans surveyed last year said they experienced a lot of stress during the day—the highest level ever recorded in the country.

That places the U.S. in joint fourth place with Iran, Sri Lanka, and Albania on the list of most stressed populations in the world. In top place is Greece at 59 percent, second is the Philippines at 58 percent and third is Tanzania at 57 percent.

Down in 12th place is Venezuela at 52 percent, a country in the grip of a painful economic and political crisis, where there are riots in the streets, people are starving, millions of refugees have fled and the threat of civil war hangs heavy.

Researchers focused on the experiences of participants the day before the survey took place.

Interviewees were asked questions such as "did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?" and "were you treated with respect?" in a bid to gain an insight into people's daily experiences.

Around 71% of people said they experienced a considerable amount of enjoyment the day before the survey.

The poll found that levels of stress was at a new high, while levels of worry and sadness also increased. Some 39% of those polled said they had been worried the day before the survey, and 35% were stressed.

Latin American countries including Paraguay, Panama and Guatemala topped the list of positive experiences, where people reported "feeling a lot of positive emotions each day."

The poll claims it is reflective of the cultural tendency in Latin America to "focus on life's positives".