Ninety-five percent of adult Filipinos are entering the New Year with hope rather than with fear (4%), according to the Fourth Quarter Social Weather Survey conducted from December 3 to 7, 2011.

This matches the all-time high 95% in 2002 who were hopeful of entering the 2003 New Year. It is also 2 points higher than the 93% who entered 2011 New Year with hope.

Hope with the coming year has customarily been at high levels, starting at 87% when SWS first polled about it in December 2000 and 88% in December 2001.

New Year hope reached its record-high 95% in December 2002 and 90% in December 2003 before it declined to 81% in December 2004 and 85% in December 2005.

It rebounded and remained steady at 91% to 92% from 2006 to 2008 before it declined to 89% in 2009.

It recovered to 93% in December 2010 and again reached record-high 95% in December 2011.

The survey question was patterned after polls conducted annually by the Allensbach Institute of Demoskopy in Germany.

Hope with the coming year is widespread in all areas, with record-highs in Mindanao and Metro Manila.

Compared to 2010, New Year hope increased by five points in Mindanao, from 89% to 94%, a record-high for that area that was first reached in 2002. 

It stayed at record-high 96% in Metro Manila.

It hardly changed in the Visayas, from a record-high 97% in 2010 to 96% in 2011, and in Balance Luzon, from 94% to 95%.

New Year hope is also high in all socio-economic classes, with a new record-high set among class E.

Compared to 2010, New Year hope rose by four points among the very poor class E, from 89% to a new record-high 93%. This surpasses the previous record-high of 91% in 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007.

New Year hope stayed at record-high 97% among the middle to upper classes ABC.

It hardly changed among the masa class D, from 95% to 96%

New Year hope is higher among those who expected a happy 2011 Christmas than among those who expected a sad Christmas.

Of the 64% who were looking forward to a happy 2011 Christmas, almost all (97%) also look forward to 2012 with hope.

On the other hand, of the 11% expecting a sad Christmas, 89% are hopeful of 2012.

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