British people’s confidence in the economy has soared in the last two and a half years

British people's confidence in their economy is currently at its highest in five years, according to a global poll by Ipsos Mori. 

 

 

Half of UK respondents in the July survey said they thought their economy was in good health – up from just 13 per cent two and a half years ago.

 

This is a bigger rise in confidence than in the US, where there was an increase from 31 per cent to 43 per cent over the same time period.

 

The UK also now has higher confidence in its economy than the average of 40 per cent across the 24 countries surveyed in the report, which was seen by The Guardian.

 

It is faring particularly well against most of its European neighbours – in both France and Italy just 10 per cent of people say they have faith in their economies. Germany, on the other hand, has a massive 78 per cent confidence level among its people. 

At the top end of the Bric spectrum is India, where 82 per cent of people think the economy is on a good track. Falling slightly behind comes China, with 72 per cent feeling that way.

 

There is then a big drop down to the 37 per cent confidence reported by Russia. That said, it could have been a lot lower considering the oil price crisis and economic sanctions imposed because of its activities in Ukraine. 

 

But at the very bottom of the Bric list comes Brazil, where no more than 12 per cent have faith in their economy. This is a huge fall from 57 per cent confidence three years ago, reflecting almost the exact reverse of what has happened in the UK. 

 

Of all the countries looked at, Saudi Arabia came out on top with 91 per cent of its population reporting economic confidence. 

While some countries have risen and others have fallen in confidence, the general change has been a positive one.

 

Around the world, 40 per cent of people say they think their national economy is in a good state, which is higher than any time over the last five years. 

 

Sentiment hit rock bottom in November 2012, when just 25 per cent of people in the countries surveyed reported feeling this way.