How do we measure Nigeria's happiness? - Talk point: Guardian.co.uk

A recent poll found Nigerians to be the most optimistic in the world in their outlook for 2011. But what's the value of such surveys?

Are Nigerians the most optimistic in the world? Yes, according to a Gallup end of year poll, which ranked Nigerians as the most hopeful in the world in terms of their economic fortunes for 2011. The countries of the G7, meanwhile, were found to be some of the most pessimistic about the future – judged to be high on per capita income, but low on hope for the new year.

The poll of 64,000 people from 53 countries around the world found that the most optimistic people mostly live in low income countries, such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Peru and Bangladesh.

Twenty countries scored low on per capita income and hope for 2011, including Russia and a number of eastern and central Asian states, plus Colombia and Ecuador. Four countries – Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Switzerland – were high on both income and optimism.

Over the past few months, there has been much debate about "happiness". The British prime minister, David Cameron, said last year he wants to put happiness at the heart of policy. Jonathan Glennie debated on the Poverty matters blog why eight Latin American countries were among the top 10 happiest states in the NEF Happy Planet Index. Latin America also has higher confidence levels in its economic performance than any other part of the world, according to the 2011 Grant Thornton International Business report.

But how should we view the results of the latest Gallup poll? What value do surveys such as these have in a development context, and how do we measure and define happiness and optimism? Tell us what you think.