Most People in the World Feel Cared for by Others, Survey Finds

A survey of about 143,000 individuals across 142 countries found that most people — 7 in 10 — feel very or fairly supported by those around them.

The Global State of Social Connections survey, conducted by Meta and Gallup last year, defined social support as “how much you feel cared for by people.” The newly released report offered some important insights into just how essential that support is for humans’ overall well-being.

Of those who felt very supported, 71% said they did not experience stress a lot of the day before the survey, and 67% did not experience physical pain during much of the day before. The report noted that these results, connecting social support to lower stress and physical pain, “may have implications for creating strategies to help people cope.”

Social support may be an important ingredient in a recipe to improve people’s health and well-being,” it read. “Yet, this ingredient may not be as readily available in more challenging environments, and people may lack support despite feeling connected to one another. In environments like these, social safety net programs such as affordable health care, housing assistance, or retirement income can help substitute when people lack support from each other.”

READ MORE ON THE FINDINGS HERE