MATERIALISM might be on the wane in Britain, where it is more shunned than in many other countries, a new survey suggests.

A poll of more than 16,000 people across 20 countries by Ipsos MORI, published last week, found that 16 per cent of the 1000 British respondents agreed that they measured their success by the things they owned, compared with 20 per cent in a similar poll in 2008. Only two other countries had lower results: Spain and Sweden. In China, 71 per cent of those questioned agreed with the statement, and in India, 58 per cent.

Two in five (39 per cent) of the British respondents agreed that they felt "under a lot of pressure to be successful and make money", compared with 27 per cent five years ago. The global average was 46 per cent.

When asked whether they felt optimistic about their own country in the next 12 months, 25 per cent of British people answered in the affirmative, compared with 53 per cent in India and 47 per cent in Australia.

However, 61 per cent of those in Britain said that they felt optimistic about themselves and their familes, above the global average of 59 per cent.