Almost four in 10 adults said they had felt a lot of worry or severe stress the day prior to being surveyed, according to the “State of the World’s Emotional Health 2025” report.

The survey was conducted by the Gallup Institute among people aged 15 and older in 144 countries and regions.

Last year, 39% of adults worldwide reported having had many worries the previous day, while 37% reported stress. This included a particularly high number of people in countries affected by conflict.

Although worries worldwide in 2024 decreased slightly on average, returning to pre-pandemic levels, they remain 5 percentage points higher than in 2014.

Physical pain (32%) increased by two percentage points compared to the previous year. Sadness (26%) and anger (22%) showed no change year-on-year. However, all values for negative feelings are higher than they were a decade ago.

Globally, women reported more sadness, worry and physical pain than men.

The study authors noted that although the global rise in dissatisfaction over the past decade is well documented, many leaders overlook it due to a reliance on economic indicators as opposed to emotional health.

This oversight is significant, the report argues, because negative emotions narrow people’s attention and reduce resilience. They could also make societies more vulnerable to instability.

Nevertheless, despite the stresses reported, positive feelings remained widespread, the study concluded.