47pc Pakistanis hopeful of better future

KARACHI: A predominant percentage of 47 Pakistanis was hopeful of good future in the new year 2021 in response to the Gallup Pakistan Survey, in comparison to 43 percent hope prevailing among 46 nations surveyed.

Over 47 percent Pakistanis expressed hope about the future, while 30 percent expressed disappointment providing a Net Score of 17 percent ‘hope’ across the country in response to the Gallup Pakistan Survey. The sample size of the respondents was 1000 and it was conducted from Oct 9 to Nov 2, 2020.

Every one out of two citizens i.e. 47 percent expressed strong hope of good future in 2021. But 30 percent were disappointed, while 13 percent thought there will be no change and 10 percent respondents did not give any reply to the questions asked during the survey. The 17 percent Net Score of Hope among the Pakistani nation has witnessed crest and troughs through the last 30 years. In 2008 during the PPP government it was recorded at rock bottom -31, in the first six months of PML-N govt installed in 2013 it recorded a mere 11 percent. The year 2014 saw it shooting up to 61 per cent and then it began to drop ever since. At the time when the PTI government was installed in 2018, the net score shot up again to 37 pc, but in the next year 2019 it dropped to 14 pc. But despite the massive coronavirus pandemic 17 percent Pakistanis did not lose hope in the future.

In contrast to the net score, the Gallup Pakistan also compared the prevailing hopefulness of the Pakistanis with the ‘overall opinion’ of 46 other nations about the future. As many as 43 percent global population is hopeful about the future, but 24 per cent remained disappointed, 26 percent feel the things would remain the same and 7 percent did not give any response.

According to outcome of similar survey in India 68 per cent respondents expected a happy augury in 2021, while 31 percent Afghans expected hopeful future.

According to Gullup Hope Index, among five countries that scored highest on the net score, Nigeria was first

with 69 percent hope followed by Indonesia 66 percent, Azerbaijan 65 percent, Vietnam 59 percent, Kazakhstan 58 percent.

The most disappointed people turned out to be those of Italy who scored -43 percent, Hong Kong recorded -34, Poland -32, Bulgaria -32 and South Korea -22.