Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Development Economics
| World Values Survey Wave 7: 2017-2020 | |||||
| Satisfaction with your life | |||||
| TOTAL | ISO 3166-1 numeric country code | ||||
| Argentina | Ethiopia | Nigeria | Zimbabwe | ||
| Completely satisfied | 16.2 | 18.9 | 15.9 | 11.8 | 18.8 |
| 9 | 6.3 | 14.8 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 2.7 |
| 8 | 11.9 | 26.2 | 8.3 | 11 | 4.9 |
| 7 | 11.1 | 17.9 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 5.8 |
| 6 | 9.9 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 6.6 |
| 5 | 14.9 | 6.9 | 21.9 | 12.5 | 16.7 |
| 4 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 7 | 12.1 | 7.1 |
| 3 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 4.9 | 11.1 | 5.2 |
| 2 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 3.7 |
| Completely dissatisfied | 13.2 | 0.7 | 13.2 | 8.5 | 28.5 |
| Don’t know | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| (N) | 4.685 | 1.003 | 1.23 | 1.237 | 1.215 |
| Mean | 5.92 | 7.69 | 5.78 | 5.58 | 4.95 |
| Std Dev. | 2.92 | 1.8 | 2.84 | 2.7 | 3.32 |
| Base mean | 4.682 | 1.003 | 1.229 | 1.236 | 1.214 |
Selected samples: Argentina 2017, Ethiopia 2020, Nigeria 2018, Zimbabwe 2020
Developed countries seem to have the most satisfied populations, while the percentages of completely dissatisfied people are very high in developing countries. There are important differences in life satisfaction for different age groups. Satisfaction with life is higher for the age of 50 and more age group in comparison to the other age groups. Irrespective of the age group, dissatisfaction is rampant in the developing countries compared to developed countries since the GDP per capita in these countries is low. Also, these countries have high levels of debt and a disproportionate resource amount.
Satisfaction with life is highest in developed countries. Puerto Rico, which leads the list with an 8.4 value, is a high-income country. Satisfaction seems to go hand in hand with sustainable economic growth. Dissatisfaction is highest in developing countries, among them Iraq, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, and Nigeria. People in developing countries are more dissatisfied with life, with those countries having a value of lower than 5. However, it is surprising that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which are low-income countries, are highly ranked on the list.
People in developing countries are more active members of churches and religious organizations. The percentage of people who don’t belong to religious organizations is highest in Argentina (66.6%), while the percentage of active membership is high in developing countries like Nigeria (68.8%) and Ethiopia (68.8%). The trend is still seen in civic groups, political parties, and humanitarian organizations. Active membership in political parties is higher in developing countries.
A stable economy is the most important first choice for all countries, with all having an above 50% range except Ethiopia, which has fight against crime as its most important choice (40.7%). Progress towards a society in which ideas count more than money has a range of 10% and below in all the four countries. In contrast, progress toward a less impersonal and more humane society is considered a second important choice.
Homosexuality is highly never justifiable in developing countries, with all having a range of above 77%, while Argentina, a developed country, has a 17.7% range. The trend is equally reflected in prostitution, abortion, and divorce, where developing countries term these activities as never being justifiable. All countries hold the same belief against suicide not being justifiable, with all having ranges above 56.6%. Similarly, all countries find it not justifiable for a man to beat his wife, violence against other people, and using terrorism as a political, ideological, or religious means.
The belief that most people cannot be trusted is within the same range across the four countries. The belief that there is a need to be very careful with people has a range of above 76%. Family is highly trusted together with people who are known personally. Distrust for people you meet the first time is the same across all the countries.