Most satisfied with air, water quality

WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- People living in Europe and Asia are most satisfied with their air and water quality, with Hong Kong the least, surveys of 140 countries indicated.

The Gallup surveys found a median of 75 percent of adults from 140 countries said they were satisfied with their air quality, while a median of 68 percent were satisfied with water quality.

Ninety-five percent in Ireland said they were satisfied with their air quality, followed by New Zealand, Australia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Germany, United Kingdom, India and Tajikistan.

The countries least satisfied with their air quality were Hong Kong, Angola, Malta, Iraq, Haiti, Lebanon, Albania, Russia and Ukraine.

Ratings of water quality were highest across wealthier countries in Europe, the Americas and developed Asia.

Specifically, 97 percent of residents in the United Kingdom were satisfied with water quality, 96 percent in Germany, 96 percent in Sweden, 96 percent in Denmark and 95 percent in Singapore.

Perceived water quality was generally lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and countries that were formerly in the Soviet Union. Seven of the 10 countries where residents are least satisfied are in sub-Saharan Africa, where residents sometimes have to walk miles for water, and waterborne and water-related diseases such as cholera are common, Gallup officials said.

The telephone and face-to-face interviews of 1,000 adults, age 15 and older, were conducted in more than 140 countries in 2011. The surveys' margin of error ranged from 2 percentage points to 5.1 percentage points.