Singaporeans Are the World’s Least Emotional People

At least it's an award we're pretty sure they won't be getting excited about.

  • Share
  • Read Later
Tim Chong / REUTERS

Not impressed. People ride on a carousel at a Chinese New Year carnival in Singapore

At least it’s an award we’re pretty sure they won’t be getting excited about.

Residents of Singapore are the least emotional people in the world, a survey by international pollster Gallup shows. Only 36% of Singaporeans said they experienced either negative or positive emotions on the day they were asked by the pollsters. This is in contrast to other Southeast Asians — for example, Filipinos, who lead the world in being emotional: 60% of those surveyed in the Philippines said they experienced the specified emotions on a daily basis.

Seven out of the world’s 10 least emotional countries are former parts of the Soviet Union, perhaps unsurprisingly; Americans were sixth most likely to be emotional, tied with Canadians, Peruvians and Costa Ricans.

Singaporeans, living in a multiethnic state that is less than a fourth the size of Rhode Island, don’t have much reason to get verklempt. Per capita GDP stood at $50,000 in 2011, according to Singapore’s Department of Statistics. That’s up $11,000 since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008.

(MORE: Singapore Soars)

According to an earlier Gallup poll, Singaporeans are also among those least likely to experience “anger, stress, worry, sadness and physical pain” on a daily basis. No wonder that the country has recently set the world record for largest cupcake mosaic.

Iraq and the Palestinian territories did worst in that global sadness ranking, along with the strife-torn Middle Eastern Kingdom of Bahrain. The U.S. was in the top 25% for daily negative emotions, according to the pollsters.

PHOTOS: Supertrees of Singapore