During the year 2020, the Japan-based foundation specializing in well-being surveyed people from 116 different countries and territories (at least 1,000 people surveyed for each country).

Their findings indicate that 72% of respondents prefer a calm life while 16% prefer an exciting life and 10% chose both.

The country of Georgia proved to be an exception, as the majority of respondents there chose an exciting life over a calm one. The results from Vietnam-based participants showed no clear preference.

For the remaining 114 countries, individuals largely aim to cultivate a calm life, with a few varying nuances observed according to the region of the globe.

Regional patterns?

In North America, the divide comes down to 75% of people in the US and Canada preferring a calm life and 22% preferring an exciting life.

The divide in Western Europe is slightly greater, with 68% of Europeans wanting more tranquility and 24% wanting a more action-filled existence.

The differences in choosing a calm life don’t necessarily follow any regional logic.

For instance, at the top of the ranking, with 85% looking for peace and quiet, East Asia is ahead of its Southeast Asian and South Asian neighbours where the rates of embracing calm existences were 68% and 56% respectively. This holds true for Latin America (82%) and North America (75%).

The results should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as the study singles out the pandemic as having “jeopardized public health and created economic turmoil worldwide.

These extraordinary circumstances may have made living a calm life a more appealing prospect for many people than it would be otherwise, especially given the ambiguous or complicated good represented by excitement.”