China's Generation Y is optimistic, apolitical and eco-friendly, survey shows

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Job seekers attend a job fair in Haikou, Hainan province, in 2012. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:07pm, 5 Jun 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

China's millennials are among the world's most optimistic and conscious of the environment in a region where optimism is scarce and at a time when their counterparts around the world expect them to lead global economic growth.

These findings are the results of a survey of more than 12,000 people between 18 and 30 years old across 27 countries. The study, published on Tuesday by Spain's biggest telephone company Telefonica and the Financial Times newspaper, is the largest global poll among young adults.

Among those surveyed, most had college educations, jobs and no children.

Economic leadership

Asked which country would drive the world economy in the next years, 58 per cent pointed to China and only 31 per cent chose the US, currently the largest economy worldwide. China could overtake the US as soon as 2016, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report in March.

Almost all of the young adults surveyed in China, 93 per cent, said they were optimistic their country's best days were still ahead. In South Korea, only 77 per cent expressed the same sentiment. In India, 81 per cent did.

Pessimism dominates in North America, where only 47 per cent expect their future to be bright. In Western Europe, it's only 41 per cent and in Japan, the pessimists make up 81 per cent, the highest in the world.