Although still mostly pessimistic when it comes to employment and the economy, Icelanders are becoming increasingly optimistic, the new Hope Index shows.
The Hope Index, conducted by Gallup, measures levels of optimism and pessimism in different aspects of daily lives. It can often be downright prescient – pessimism about the economy overtook optimism in February 2008, months before the economic collapse. This also marked the beginning of pessimists being in the majority.
While they still are, Vísir reports, there are signs of growing optimism.
With 100 indicating a 50/50 balance between optimists and pessimists, Iceland’s Hope Index now stands at 73.3. However, this is up two points from last month, and up from 66.3 this same time last year.
The darkest hour for Iceland, in terms of levels of pessimism in the country, was in November 2008. At that time, only 5% of the nation was optimistic about employment prospects and the economy in general.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
