In the six years after the Great Recession, many people are still worried about the state of the global economy. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, most nations are not optimistic about the state of their country's economy.
Researchers conducted the new survey from March 17 to June 5 of this year, asking 48,643 respondents in 44 countries their views on the economy and where they thought the economy was heading.
They found that a global median of 60 percent of people think their country's economy is performing poorly, despite the fact that stock markets are up and unemployment is down in many countries.
The survey found people are most economically pessimistic in Greece, France, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. More than half of Greeks expect the economy to decline over the next 12 months. 48 percent of French participants, 46 percent of Lebanese participants and 44 percent of Palestinian participants all shared similar views.
97 percent of Greeks, 96 percent of Italians and 93 percent of Spanish reported poor economic conditions compared to the 58 percent of Americans who reported poor performance from the U.S. economy. Only 40 percent of Americans were satisfied with the state of the economy.
China ranked as the most economically optimistic country, with only six percent of Chinese respondents reporting poor conditions. 80 percent predict their economy will improve over the next 12 months.
The survey found that the countries with the most optimistic views were countries with emerging or developing economies including Peru, Vietnam, Senegal, Nigeria, India and Colombia.
Economic experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expect India's economy to match its predictions. 71 percent of Indians expect their economy to get better over the next 12 months. The IMF predicts the economy will increase from 5.4 percent in 2014 to 6.4 percent in 2015. The IMF contradicts popular Chinese opinion and predicts the economy will slightly decrease from 7.4 percent in 2014 to 7.1 percent in 2015.
Americans fall in between the optimistic and pessimistic. 35 percent reported the economy will improve, 33 percent reported it will still the same and 30 percent predict it will only get worse.
