Latin Americans ranked most positive people in the world

84 percent of Venezuelans answered yes to questions asking them if they felt well rested and whether they smile and laugh a lot.

Seven other Latin American countries were in the top ten, despite all of them having low GDP's and high poverty rates. Countries with stronger economies like Singapore were ranked near the bottom of the list.

According to psychologist Jose Felix Salazar, Venezuela’s high placement is due to President Hugo Chavez’s massive social spending, which has brought opportunities to the poor and has helped Venezuela’s economy to expand by 5.2% in the third quarter of 2012, its eighth consecutive quarter of growth.

But Venezuelans are also facing tough problems including an extremely high murder rate, record inflation and a highly polarized political climate.

Caracas resident, Alicia Colmenares believes many Venezuelans use their good nature to mask these issues.

According to the study, 72 percent of adults say they felt enjoyment in their daily lives but only 43 percent said they were able to learn and experience new things on a frequent basis.