Who are the friendliest people on earth?

Chug points me to this latest survey, and here is the list:

1. Bahrain

2. Canada

3. Australia

4. Thailand

5. Malaysia

6. South Africa

7. Hong Kong

8. Singapore

9. Spain

10. United States

That means friendly to expats, not friendly to each other.  You’ll notice that English-speaking or English-fluent countries are overrepresented, plus Thailand (ahem).

Here is a critique of the survey and mostly I concur with the criticisms (sorry Omar).  More generally, unless it is a woman seeking marriage, I view “friendliness to expats” as a social strategy, often intended for internal consumption, not necessarily insincere but not reflecting true temperament either.  It’s not driven by actual friendliness.  By the way, how did Spain ever make it to number nine?

Are the Japanese the most or the least friendly people on earth?  “Helpful” isn’t the same as “friendly.”  In what country are you most likely to make real friends?  Marry a native?  Aren’t those two variables inversely related?

“Friendly” is one of the words most likely to arouse my deconstructive suspicions.