In terms of optimism about what the future holds, the people of Taiwan walk on the sunny side of the street. On the other side of the street is Vietnam, clutching on to that umbrella, ready for the worst.
So says Mastercard’s Next Generation Well-Being Index, that found Taiwan is home to Asia’s most optimistic people, followed by South Korea and Hong Kong in second and third on the ‘ain’t it great to be alive’ scale.
The index is based 10 questions related to the issues and outlook for the next generation – defined as anyone born after 2000. The results were then averaged on a scale of 0-100, with 0 the most negative, 50 neutral and 100 as the most positive.
According to the findings, Taiwan scored 80, a little over a full eight points ahead of second-place South Korea with a score of 71.8.
The index found, in general, that people in developing countries are much more pessimistic than those in advanced economies. China, India and Vietnam, for example, are not at all thrilled with what prospects the future might hold — all came in below 50.
Overall, people in Vietnam (36.3), Myanmar (39.8) and Bangladesh (40.0) were the most confident that life would suck for the next generation, says the survey.
