This is a special release from Gilani Poll, comprising three sections: the first section provides the latest year data, the second gives comparison for all the ten years since 2000, and the third section gives a short commentary by Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani, Chairman of Gilani Research Foundation in Pakistan and a member of Gallup International Board, the apex body which runs its global polls.

OPTIMISN AND PESSIMISM FOR 2010

More Pakistanis continue to be pessimistic rather than optimistic about the new year, yet there is a positive change from a year ago. A year ago only 9% were optimists who believed Pakistan will have a better year than the one which had ended at that time. Now the figure has risen to 23%. A year ago 40% were pessimist who believed the new year will be worse. In other words pessimists outnumbered optimists by more than four times. Now the pessimists have dropped to 35% and are matched more closely in comparison with a year ago by 23% of the optimists.

The recent Gilani poll was conducted in Pakistan by Gallup Pakistan, affiliated with Gallup International Association, among a sample of 2442 men and women from rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during October 2009. Error margin is estimated to be approx. 2-3 percent at 95% confidence level.