Many in Asia See Better Living Standards for Next Generation

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Majorities in most Asian economies surveyed in 2016, including some of the region's least-developed countries, expect that children today will have better living standards when they grow up than their parents did. This includes more than 90% of residents in poor countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar.

	Better	Same	Worse	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Country
Bangladesh	95	2	2	2
Myanmar	91	5	3	2
Vietnam	88	8	3	1
Nepal	79	10	5	6
Indonesia	73	17	6	4
Cambodia	70	8	16	6
India	62	26	7	5
Philippines	62	30	6	2
Thailand	61	19	10	10
Singapore	60	21	13	6
Mongolia	59	20	9	12
Afghanistan	56	23	13	9
Pakistan	55	30	13	3
Hong Kong	53	17	28	3
Taiwan	41	13	39	7
Figures may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Gallup World Poll, 2016

The pace of economic progress explains much of the difference between opinions in countries at the top and bottom of the list. Countries at the top of the list, where residents are most optimistic about the next generation's standard of living, enjoyed strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of over 6% last year. Their economies have seen dramatic improvements recently, aided by increased foreign investment and low labor rates. Bangladesh's economy, for example, has grown by more than 6% in 10 of the past 12 years.

However, among countries at the top of the list, current per capita income levels are low compared with those of other countries. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh ranked 145^th in the world in terms of per capita income last year, and Myanmar ranked 146^th. These are two of the world's least-developed countries, where people have relatively short life expectancies. Yet, residents in Bangladesh and Myanmar express great hope for rising living standards -- not because of their country's current level of development, but because of the positive trend and momentum of its development.

The opposite is apparent in several economies toward the bottom of the list. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are among the more advanced economies in the world and enjoy high per capita income levels. However, they have mature economies with saturated markets that face little upward potential. Although they have considerably more-developed economies than countries at the top of the list do, they have less room for growth -- and therefore seem less optimistic about their future generation seeing improved living standards.

Rate of Economic Progress

People's outlook on the economic conditions of their country aligns closely with their level of optimism for the future generation's standard of living. Residents of poor countries with fast-growing economies are more likely to say national economic conditions are "getting better" than are residents of wealthier countries with slow-growing economies.

	Getting better	Staying the same*	Getting worse	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Country
Bangladesh	78	9	10	4
Myanmar	76	13	8	3
Cambodia	71	5	19	5
Vietnam	67	19	6	8
Philippines	66	10	20	5
India	51	33	12	5
Indonesia	48	6	42	4
Nepal	39	15	39	7
Singapore	35	38	21	6
Thailand	35	20	37	9
Pakistan	28	36	36	0
Taiwan	22	8	61	9
Afghanistan	19	21	54	7
Hong Kong	18	7	71	4
Mongolia	17	16	60	6
*Volunteered response; figures may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Gallup World Poll, 2016

Again, Bangladesh and Myanmar top the list, with 78% and 76% in each country, respectively, saying their national economic conditions are getting better. They are followed by other lower-income countries with fast-growing economies. In general, residents' answers to this question track closely with the actual GDP growth performance reported by their country.

At the bottom of the list, 17% of Mongolians believe their economy is getting better. Mongolia enjoyed a natural resource boom several years ago, but the country was hit hard when commodity prices fell and then it poorly managed the resulting fallout. Now, after years of double-digit GDP growth, the country's growth rate is less than 5% per year.

People Predict Different Future for Themselves Than for Children

People's views about their own living standards differ from their outlook on future living standards for "today's children." For example, Filipinos are the most likely in the region to say their standard of living is getting better (81%), while 62% expect children's living standards to be better than those of their parents. Afghans are the least positive about their living standards, with 36% of the population saying their standard of living is getting better, while a slim majority (56%) see better conditions for children ahead.

This suggests that respondents think about their country's future development and the general direction their country is moving in when they are asked about "today's children." When asked about their own personal standard of living, they take into account a multitude of current individual factors, and economic conditions do not play as central a role.

Implications

People's predictions of whether children today will have a higher standard of living than that of their parents reflect their perceived potential for economic progress. They likely do not answer based on today's living standards, but rather on expectations for how improved the next generation's standard of living will be relative to today's.

Respondents from mature economies see little room for progress and are less hopeful that children will have a better standard of living than they do. In developing countries, while residents may not be as positive about their own living conditions, they are hopeful that children will have a better life than they do.

Gallup repeated this study in 2017 and will release results showing how each country's perceptions have changed.