A study involving over 1,400 young people from 100 countries indicates a wide range of optimism about the future among Gen Z. Researchers from Oxford Scholastica Academy surveyed participants on their hopes regarding personal futures, the economy, the environment, politics, and society as a whole. Respondents rated their optimism on a scale of 1 to 5.
Sri Lanka emerged as the most optimistic country, with an overall score of 4.32. The study highlighted Sri Lanka's high environmental optimism (4.62) and strong personal optimism (4.75), noting that young people there remain hopeful about their society's future despite recent economic challenges.
Following Sri Lanka, Kenya ranked second with an average score of 4.31, and Nepal secured third place with 4.24. Nepal was the only country to achieve a perfect personal optimism score of 5.00 and also recorded the highest economic optimism at 4.80, suggesting that students feel positive about their individual prospects regardless of the country's income status.
Among Western nations, Canada ranked sixth globally with a score of 4.08, while the United States was close behind with 3.99.
Least Optimistic Nations
At the lower end of the spectrum, Kuwait recorded the lowest optimism score at 2.92. Kuwaiti students showed the least political optimism in the entire study, scoring 1.80, and the lowest future-of-society score at 2.40. Rwanda followed with a score of 3.20, ahead of Turkey (3.22), France (3.22), and Poland (3.24).
The United Kingdom ranked 33rd out of 41 countries with an overall score of 3.61. British students' scores for political and environmental optimism were in the bottom third of the rankings, at 3.04 and 3.06 respectively.
Lavinia Abell, Co–Director of Oxford Scholastica Academy, commented that anxieties about factors such as artificial intelligence, global conflicts, and the rising cost of living could contribute to pessimism. She stated, "In every aspect of society, there are things to be anxious and pessimistic about. This could be the rise in AI, war, the cost–of–living increasing and much more. This will be especially worrisome for young people, facing challenges as they enter the world of work. What this study highlights is the attitudes of each nationality towards these uncertainties."