Surveys come out all the time, and if you follow them long enough they will contradict each other. Or so it seems.

But at the moment, it would appear Emiratis are happier about their lives than most people in the world, and especially happier than people in this region.

The National took a look at the survey results and did this story on it.

The UAE ranked as the 25th “most positive country in the world”, the Gallup survey found, tied with Great Britain and Mali.

(Great Britain and Mali? What other list could those countries possibly finish in a tie?)

The most positive country? Panama. Followed by Paraguay. (Which does make you wonder about the validity of the test. Not many people in those countries live comfortable lives. But maybe something about it makes them “positive?”)

The Emiratis interviewed by our reporters seemed to come back to the issue of personal safety. No one here feels at risk, not from personal or impersonal attack. Meanwhile, Emiratis have an understanding of how edgy and dangerous life is in many countries in the region. Egypt Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait …

Meanwhile, the least positive people surveyed live in Singapore, the island republic. We have a Singaporean in the office, and she suggested that Singapore people just tend to be reserved. They’re happy, but they’re not conceding it to anyone.

The survey is based on five questions, asking things like “do you feel well-rested?” and “did you laugh or smile much” the previous day.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Eight of the top 10 are Latin-America countries. Even though they don’t have much money.

A lesson there, perhaps.