Over half of global online consumers think their country is currently in recession and consumer confidence worldwide has fallen to its lowest since 2005, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index.

The latest Index dropped to 88 - down six points in the last six months - the largest single drop recorded in the last three years.

"Consumer confidence fell in 39 out of 482 countries in the past six months, with New Zealand, USA and Latvia suffering the deepest declines,"said Vicky Santos, executive director for The Nielsen Company, Singapore. "Among the 39 markets recording a drop in consumer confidence, 15 fell by double-digits, including Singapore, which saw a 12-point decline."

The US suffered the biggest fall in its Confidence Index, dropping 17 points, while in Europe, the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index dropped six points to 83. Nielsen Consumer Confidence Indices dropped three points in Asia Pacific and EEMEA, and two points in Latin America.

Only Taiwan bucked the global trend of economic gloom, posting a buoyant 14 point increase in Nielsen's Consumer Confidence Index in the past six months - up to 83 from 69 points. Other countries posting an increase in consumer confidence were the Netherlands (+5), Russia, Poland, Czech Republic (+3), Brazil (+2) and Belgium (+1).

Meanwhile, Norway, India, Indonesia and Denmark topped global rankings as the most optimistic nations in Nielsen's Consumer Confidence Index, while Portugal, Korea and Japan ranked as the world's most pessimistic nations.

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