Majority of Turks would fight for their country, survey says

ISTANBUL

60 percent of people around the world said they would be willing to take up arms for their country, while 27 percent would not be willing.

A large majority of Turkish people, 73 percent, said they would be willing to fight for their country if there were a war that involved Turkey, Gallup International’s annual global End of Year survey has shown.

Globally, 60 percent of the people surveyed said they would be willing to take up arms for their country while 27 percent would not be willing.

Western Europe proved the region most reticent to fighting for their countries with just 25 percent saying they would fight, while about half (53 percent) saying they would not, according to the survey.

This contrasts sharply with people from countries in the Middle East and North Africa, who are the most likely to be willing to fight for their countries (77 percent), followed by those living in Asia (71 percent).

Some 44 percent of respondents in the United States said they would fight for their country, while the figure was just 27 percent in the U.K., 29 percent in France, and 18 percent in Germany. Despite being widely recognized for their neutrality, 39 percent of people from Switzerland said they would be prepared to go to war for their country. It was Italians who proved to be the least willing to bear arms for their country, with 68 percent revealing they would refuse to do so.

Meanwhile, Turkey was also revealed to be among 10 most unhappy countries in the world, according to survey conducted by Barem Research, the local member of Gallup.

Turkey ranks 56th on the "happiness survey" conducted in 65 countries worldwide, with 46 percent of Turks saying they are happy.

Iraq was found to be the unhappiest country, with only 31 percent of Iraqis saying they are happy. After Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia were the unhappiest countries surveyed.