Economic Optimism Index (EOI): State of the Economy 1997 - present

Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse over the next 12 months?

20 January 2020

The author(s)

Dr. Roger Mortimore Public Affairs

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Q Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse over the next 12 months?

* Hover over each point to see the date of fieldwork and percentage. Click on any of the codes in the legend, to add/ remove that data from the chart.

1979 - April 1997

1997	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
General Election 1 May 1997
9-12 May 1997	40	35	12	13	+28
20-23 June 1997	38	36	19	7	+19
25-28 July 1997	35	32	25	8	+10
21-25 August 1997	29	32	31	7	-2
26-29 September 1997	36	37	19	7	+17
24-27 October 1997	31	39	24	7	+7
21-24 November 1997	30	40	24	6	+6
12-15 December 1997	26	36	30	8	-4

1998	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
23-26 January 1998	27	38	28	7	-1
20-23 February 1998	29	38	27	6	+2
20-23 March 1998	30	36	26	8	+4
24-27 April 1998	28	38	27	7	+1
21-24 May 1998	26	39	25	10	+1
25-30 June 1998	19	36	38	7	-19
17-21 July 1998	19	33	40	8	-21
21-24 August 1998	18	30	45	6	-27
18-21 September 1998	13	30	50	7	-37
23-26 October 1998	11	25	57	7	-46
20-23 November 1998	16	31	47	6	-31
11-14 December 1998	16	30	46	8	-30

1999	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
22-25 January 1999	18	35	41	6	-23
19-22 February 1999	21	36	36	7	-15
19-22 March 1999	26	37	32	5	-6
23-26 April 1999	23	41	31	5	-8
21-24 May 1999	25	43	26	6	-1
18-21 June 1999	23	43	27	7	-4
23-26 July 1999	26	45	23	6	+3
20-23 August 1999	19	43	31	7	-12
24-27 September 1999	29	40	24	7	+5
22-25 October 1999	21	44	28	7	-7
19-22 November 1999	28	42	24	6	+4
10-14 December 1999	25	45	24	6	+1

2000	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
20-25 January 2000	27	41	25	6	+2
17-22 February 2000	22	41	32	5	-10
23-28 March 2000	25	40	30	5	-5
13-18 April 2000	20	43	33	4	-13
18-23 May 2000	22	38	33	7	-11
22-27 June 2000	18	42	32	8	-14
20-24 July 2000	23	40	33	4	-10
17-21 August 2000	20	46	27	7	-7
21-26 September 2000	19	41	36	5	-17
19-23 October 2000	18	42	31	9	-13
23-28 November 2000	22	43	28	7	-6
7-12 December 2000	22	44	28	6	-6

2001	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
18-22 January 2001	20	45	29	6	-9
15-20 February 2001	23	46	25	6	-2
22-27 March 2001	15	35	44	6	-29
19-24 April 2001	18	37	40	5	-22
24-30 May 2001	20	47	24	9	-4
General Election June 7 2001
21-26 June 2001	21	47	25	7	-4
19-23 July 2001	18	45	33	5	-15
23-28 August 2001	12	39	43	6	-31
20-25 September 2001	8	22	64	6	-56
18-22 October 2001	11	30	54	5	-43
22-27 November 2001	14	37	43	5	-29
There was no MORI Political Monitor in December

2002	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
24-28 January 2002	17	42	37	6	-20
21-26 February 2002	18	38	39	4	-21
21-26 March 2002	18	38	39	5	-21
18-22 April 2002	24	41	29	6	-5
23-28 May 2002	15	44	37	4	-22
20-24 June 2002	15	47	32	6	-17
18-22 July 2002	15	38	42	5	-27
22-28 August 2002	15	42	38	6	-23
19-24 September 2002	14	42	37	6	-23
17-21 October 2002	15	40	39	5	-23
14-19 November 2002	11	41	43	5	-32
12-17 December 2002	10	36	50	4	-40

2003	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
23-27 January 2003	8	30	54	7	-46
20-25 February 2003	8	28	58	6	-50
20-24 March 2003	12	29	51	8	-39
24-28 April 2003	19	38	37	7	-18
22-28 May 2003	14	42	38	6	-24
19-24 June 2003	17	40	37	6	-20
17-22 July 2003	15	42	37	6	-22
28 August - 2 September 2003	13	40	39	8	-26
11-16 September 2003	14	43	37	7	-23
23-28 October 2003	13	43	38	6	-25
20-25 November 2003	14	39	41	6	-27
11-17 December 2003	16	42	36	6	-20

2004	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
15-20 January 2004	16	41	37	6	-21
12-16 February 2004	17	42	35	6	-18
11-16 March 2004	16	40	38	6	-22
15-19 April 2004	15	47	33	5	-18
27 May - 1 June 2004	14	41	39	6	-25
24-29 June 2004	13	46	35	7	-22
22-27 July 2004	17	44	33	6	-16
12-16 August 2004	13	43	40	5	-27
10-14 September 2004	14	46	36	5	-22
21-27 October 2004	12	45	38	5	-26
4-8 November 2004	14	44	37	4	-23
2-6 December 2004	13	47	35	5	-22

2005	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
20-24 January 2005	12	53	31	5	-19
17-21 February 2005	17	50	28	5	-11
17-22 March 2005	15	48	30	6	-15
21-25 April 2005	17	46	28	10	-11
General election 5 May 2005
19-23 May 2005	16	43	36	5	-20
16-20 June 2005	16	48	30	6	-14
14-18 July 2005	14	47	32	6	-18
11-15 August 2005	12	45	37	6	-25
22-26 September 2005	9	43	44	4	-35
20-25 October 2005	9	44	41	6	-32
17-22 November 2005	12	44	39	5	-27

2006	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
19-23 January 2006	13	46	36	5	-23
16-20 February 2006	11	45	39	5	-28
16-21 March 2006	13	44	39	4	-26
27 April - 2 May 2006	11	42	41	6	-30
25-30 May 2006	11	43	43	3	-32
22-26 June 2006	10	50	35	5	-25
20-24 July 2006	10	42	43	5	-33
31 August - 6 September 2006	11	41	42	6	-31
12-16 October 2006	12	47	35	6	-23
9-14 November 2006	10	41	43	6	-33
7-12 December 2006	12	44	39	5	-27

2007	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
19-29 January 2007	8	37	47	7	-39
19-25 April 2007	10	43	41	6	-31
17-22 May 2007	14	48	34	5	-20
14-20 June 2007	14	45	34	8	-20
12-17 July 2007	16	41	37	6	-21
23-29 August 2007	12	43	37	8	-25
20-26 September 2007	12	35	45	7	-33
18-23 October 2007	11	36	48	5	-39
29 November - 7 December 2007	9	31	55	5	-46

2008	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
17-23 January 2008	9	27	60	5	-51
21-26 February 2008	7	33	54	5	-47
13-18 March 2008	7	22	67	4	-60
17-22 April 2008	9	19	66	5	-57
15-20 May 2008	7	22	67	3	-60
13-15 June 2008	12	16	69	2	-57
18-20 July 2008	11	12	75	2	-64
15-17 August 2008	13	14	72	1	-59
12-14 September 2008	12	16	70	1	-58
17-19 October 2008	24	16	59	1	-35
14-16 November 2008	17	13	68	2	-51
12-14 December 2008	18	14	66	3	-48

2009	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
16-18 January 2009	20	18	60	2	-40
13-15 February 2009	20	17	60	2	-40
13-15 March 2009	23	23	52	1	-29
17-19 April 2009	35	25	37	3	-2
29-31 May 2009	33	29	35	3	-2
19-21 June 2009	41	27	30	2	+11
17-19 July 2009	34	24	40	1	-6
21-23 August 2009	43	26	27	3	+16
25-27 September 2009	43	28	27	2	+16
16-18 October 2009	44	31	23	2	+21
13-15 November 2009	46	28	23	3	+23
11-13 December 2009	32	29	36	3	-4

2010	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
26-28 January 2010	44	28	24	3	+20
19-22 February 2010	37	29	31	2	+6
19-22 March 2010	36	32	29	3	+7
18-19 April 2010	41	30	26	4	+15
12-13 May 2010	41	22	31	6	+10
18-20 June 2010	35	23	40	3	-5
23-25 July 2010	37	24	34	4	+2
10-12 Sept 2010	28	22	48	2	-20
15-17 Oct 2010	27	22	48	4	-21
12-14 Nov 2010	28	21	48	3	-20
10-12 Dec 2010	29	26	41	4	-12

2011	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
21-24 January 2011	24	20	53	3	-29
18-20 February 2011	19	23	56	2	-37
11-13 March 2011	23	23	51	3	-28
15-17 April 2011	31	24	42	3	-11
20-24 May 2011	29	27	42	2	-13
17-19 June 2011	23	28	46	3	-23
16-18 July 2011	22	27	48	3	-26
20-22 August 2011	19	26	52	3	-33
10-12 September 2011	20	25	52	4	-32
22-24 October 2011	16	25	57	3	-41
19-21 November 2011	15	25	58	2	-43
10-12 December 2011	12	25	60	2	-48

2012	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
21-23 January 2012	16	29	51	3	-35
25-27 February 2012	24	28	46	2	-22
17-19 March 2012	29	25	43	2	-14
21-23 April 2012	24	32	42	2	-18
12-14 May 2012	21	32	44	3	-23
9-11 June 2012	18	29	50	3	-32
14-16 July 2012	16	33	48	3	-32
11-13 August 2012	16	40	43	2	-27
15-17 September 2012	26	36	35	3	-9
20-24 October 2012	25	33	39	3	-14
10-13 November 2012	29	34	35	2	-6
8 - 10 December 2012	19	33	46	2	-27

2013	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
12-14 January 2013	21	33	43	3	-22
9-11 February 2013	22	30	44	3	-22
9-11 March 2013	18	31	48	3	-30
13-15 April 2013	22	35	41	3	-19
11-13 May 2013	30	37	31	3	-1
8-10 June 2013	31	35	31	4	0
13-15 July 2013	35	30	30	3	+5
10-12 August 2013	44	29	24	2	+20
7-9 September 2013	46	28	23	3	+23
12-15 October 2013	42	28	27	3	+15
9-11 November 2013	42	27	27	4	+15
7-9 December 2013	44	27	26	2	+18

2014	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
11-14 January 2014	45	26	26	3	+19
1-3 February 2014	50	23	24	3	+26
8-12 March 2014	48	24	25	3	+23
5-7 April 2014	49	25	24	2	+25
10-12 May 2014	53	25	18	4	+35
14-17 June 2014	50	25	21	4	+29
12-15 July 2014	46	29	21	4	+25
9-11 August 2014	51	26	19	4	+32
6-9 September 2014	45	29	21	5	+24
11-14 October 2014	37	31	25	7	+12
8-10 November 2014	42	30	23	5	+19
13-15 December 2014	35	30	30	5	+5

2015	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
11-13 January 2015	38	30	26	6	+12
10-12 February 2015	37	30	26	7	+11
8-11 March 2015	41	33	20	7	+21
12-15 April 2015	42	27	21	11	+21
26-29 April 2015	43	27	17	14	+26
14-16 June 2015	42	28	26	4	+16
18-20 July 2015	42	26	28	4	+14
19-22 September 2015	35	28	34	3	+1
17-19 October 2015	32	27	38	3	-6
14-17 November 2015	31	25	40	4	-9
12-14 December 2015	34	28	35	3	-1

2016	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
23-25 January 2016	26	31	39	4	-13
13-16 February 2016	25	26	44	5	-19
19-22 March 2016	23	32	40	5	-17
16-18 April 2016	25	31	33	10	-8
14 - 16 May 2016	18	31	38	12	-20
11 - 14 June 2016	19	31	29	21	-10
9 - 11 July 2016	23	16	57	4	-34
13 - 15 August 2016	28	22	43	6	-15
10 - 14 September 2016	36	24	37	3	-1
14 - 17 October 2016	24	17	53	5	-29
11 - 14 November 2016	26	23	47	5	-21
10 - 12 December 2016	24	21	51	5	-27

2017	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
13-16 January 2017	27	21	47	4	-20
10 - 14 February 2017	28	24	44	4	-16
10 - 14 March 2017	22	24	50	4	-28
21 - 25 April 2017	28	24	40	8	-12
15 - 17 May 2017	27	23	43	8	-16
14 - 18 July 2017	14	28	54	4	-40
15-18 September 2017	21	23	52	4	-31
27 October- 1 November 2017	19	24	51	6	-32
24 - 28 November 2017	15	24	58	3	-43

2018	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
19-23 January 2018	20	24	52	4	-32
2-7 March 2018	22	22	54	3	-32
20-24 April 2018	23	28	46	3	-23
18-22 May 2018	23	27	46	5	-23
22-27 June 2018	19	23	54	4	-35
20-24 July 2018	17	23	54	6	-37
14-18 September 2018	15	19	59	7	-44
19-22 October 2018	14	21	61	5	-47
30 Nov - 5 Dec 2018	14	19	61	6	-47

2019	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
1-5 Feb 2019	14	21	57	9	-43
15-19 March 2019	16	20	58	6	-42
10-14 May 2019	16	25	51	9	-35
21-25 June 2019	13	23	57	7	-44
26-30 July 2019	18	19	58	5	-40
13-16 Sept 2019	15	20	59	6	-44
25-28 Oct 2019	17	19	56	8	-39
2-4 Dec 2019	21	20	50	9	-29
General Election 2019 (12 December)

2020	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
31 Jan-3 Feb 2020	29	21	42	7	-13
13-16 March 2020 (T)	15	13	69	3	-54
5-10 June 2020 (T)	22	6	69	3	-47
30 July - 4 August 2020 (T)	20	9	68	2	-48
11-18 Sept 2020 (T)	21	10	66	3	-45
22-28 Oct 2020 (T)	15	10	71	4	-56
4-10 Dec 2020 (T)	27	7	63	4	-36

2021	Improve	Stay the same	Get worse	Don't know	EOI
	%	%	%	%	%
29 Jan - 4 Feb 2021	29	9	60	2	-31
5-12 March 2021	43	14	41	3	+2
16-22 April 2021	51	11	36	2	+15
28 May - 3 June 2021	53	13	31	4	+22
2-8 July 2021	47	12	36	5	+11
30 July - 9 August 2021	44	12	39	5	+5
17-23 September 2021	31	13	53	3	-22
29 Oct - 3 Nov 2021	28	17	54	2	-26
3-10 December 2021	25	19	52	4	-27
19-25 Jan 2022	27	13	56	3	-29
9-16 Mar 2022	14	7	76	4	-62
20-28 Apr 2022	14	12	70	4	-56
11-17 May 2022	15	10	72	3	-57
22-29 June 2022	13	8	77	2	-64
21-27 July 2022	16	10	69	5	-53
7-15 Sept 2022	15	10	71	3	-56
5-12 Oct 2022	16	11	70	3	-54
9-16 November 2022	16	10	72	3	-56
7-13 December 2022	14	14	69	3	-55
13-19 January 2023	24	16	57	3	-33
22 Feb - 1 March 2023	23	12	61	4	-38
22-29 March 2023	22	17	58	3	-36
10-16 May 2023	24	18	54	4	-30
14-20 June 2023	21	18	58	3	-37
19-23 July 2023	28	15	55	3	-27
6-12 September 2023	20	23	55	2	-35
11-18 October 2023	21	20	55	5	-34
1-7 November 2023	19	21	55	5	-36
1-7 December 2023	22	24	50	4	-28
17-23 January 2024	24	21	50	5	-26
21-28 February 2024	24	19	52	6	-28
3-15 April 2024	21	21	52	5	-31
8-14 May 2024	33	25	37	6	-4

The author(s)

Dr. Roger Mortimore Public Affairs

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