People who live in Northern Italy also tend to be more satisfied - 55% are in the high category, compared with only 42% of those from the less economically developed Southern and Central provinces. On a positive note, young Italians (ages 18-34) are much happier - 60% rate their life at least a seven on the zero-to-10 scale. On the other hand, in Sweden (72%), Canada (71%), Spain (66%), and the United States (65%), more than six-in-ten respondents place themselves on the top rungs of the ladder.Īs is true throughout much of Europe, dissatisfaction is particularly common among older citizens - only 37% of Italians ages 55 and older give their current life a high rating, compared with 49% of those ages 35-54. For example, when asked to place themselves on a “ladder of life,” where zero represents the worst possible life and 10 the best possible life, fewer than half of Italians (48%) rate their life at least a seven. 1 Italians Less Satisfied With Lifeĭespite its reputation for la dolce vita, when it comes to rating their current lives and looking to the future, Italians are generally gloomier than their fellow Europeans, as well as Americans and Canadians. In spring 2007, the Pew Global Attitudes Project surveyed 47 countries, and on a variety of issues - life satisfaction, national conditions, immigration - Italians had a distinctively negative outlook. Italians are a bit glum, and it shows in public opinion polls. And many Americans return from Italy with a strong appreciation for the Italian approach to living - the slower pace, the long meals, the passeggiata, or “evening stroll.” But in truth, the malaise camp might be on to something.

Only days later, the London Times piled on, lamenting Italy’s “national angst” as it “faces up to being old and poor.” Worse still, the country’s international image has suffered with press reports of Naples’ garbage crisis - with landfills overflowing in late December, collectors stopped picking up trash, which now piles up in unpleasant mounds across the city.Ĭertainly rotting trash is not the image most Americans associate with Italy, the land of dramatic history, great food, and expensive style (think Gucci, Armani, Ferrari). “Italy,” Fisher wrote, “seems not to love itself.” Analyzing the country’s malaise, he detailed a litany of woes: an anemic economy, a low birth rate, corrupt politicians, mobsters. It started a few weeks ago with a broadside from across the Atlantic by Ian Fisher in the New York Times. Taken aback by critical depictions of their country’s “collective funk,” Italians are currently engaged in considerable hand-wringing over the condition of their national psyche.

By Richard Wike, senior researcher, Pew Global Attitudes Project

Cosi e la vita imobile