Optimism for 2026: 60% of Brazilians project a better next year for the country

A Datafolha survey shows that Brazilians are more optimistic for 2026: 69% of respondents said they believe that, next year, their personal situation will be better than in 2025, a jump of nine percentage points in relation to the previous survey on the topic. The expectation is higher among women, those with less education and those with lower monthly income.

According to the institute, a year ago, 60% projected an improvement for 2025, the lowest level recorded in Lula’s (PT) third term as President.

In the survey, Datafolha asked 2,002 people aged 16 or over in population flow points in 113 municipalities in Brazil, between December 2nd and 4th: “In your opinion, will 2026 be a better year, the same or worse than 2025 for you?”. This year, 16% said it will be the same, and 11%, worse. Another 3% were unable to answer.

The survey’s margin of error is 2 percentage points, plus or minus, and the confidence level is 95%.

Datafolha also asked interviewees about expectations for the general situation in the country. Six out of ten of them (60%) said they expected a better year for Brazilians in 2026 compared to 2025 — a result similar to that recorded at the turn of 2022 to 2023, when Lula was elected. In the previous survey, 47% said they were optimistic about 2025, compared to 2024.

The survey shows that optimism about the personal situation for 2026 occurs mainly among women (74%), almost ten points more than among men (65%).

Good expectations are also prevalent among those with less education — 74% among those who only have primary education, and 62% of those with higher education (62%) — and those with lower incomes — 72% of those who earn less than two minimum wages per month, and 61% among those who earn more than ten wages per month.