The youth in Latin America is feeling pretty good about themselves and their future. Why?

According to a report from City Lab, a survey by the Citi Foundation last year showed that Latin American youth in the city were some of the world's most optimistic on their economic futures. This is impressive -- and a little bit surprising -- considering their respective cities hit low scores on the economic opportunity index.

So what are the reasons for the positive outlook of the young people in Latin America?

Cultural Character

Part of the optimism is the natural tendency of Latin Americans to look at the brighter side of life. A report from Fusion earlier this year revealed that the people in the region were some of the happiest in the world. Colombia even topped the Annual End of Year Survey for 2015 by Gallup and WIN, which measured the happiest nations in the world along with Ecuador, Panama and Mexico.

Carol Graham, Brookings Institution senior fellow who studied the economics of happiness and well-being around the world, agreed in the City Lab report. She explained that she grew up in Latin America and it was generally a cheerful place to live.

"People love their families, they make time to eat together, they love music," Graham explained. "There is a cheerfulness woven throughout the culture that I think drives up the average [happiness] scores."

She added that the material circumstances of even the poorest communites in the region have generally improved over the last decade through social programs and attitude of fellow Latin Americans.

High Level of GDP Growth

The Latin American youth are also likely looking at the GDP numbers. Even with the low GDP of cities, the region is making strides with economic growth in Latin America. This development has likely encouraged the people to feel better about the futures of their cities.

"Some of the cities with a lower GDP happen to be places where the most economic growth is happening," Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation, pointed out. "So even if the overall GDP is low, young people are growing up seeing development happening around them. We can't prove exact causation, but what we're inferring from this is that when [young people] see a dynamic, growth-focused environment, they're very optimistic."

Investment Opportunities

According to Investor Daily, Felipe Trujillo, head of product development of Sura Asset Management, highlighted the Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile) as a good destination to find plenty of opportunities.

"You have different flavours in terms of the investment themes that you can bring to investors," he said.

The company's regional head of utilities, Felipe Asenjo Wilkins, mentioned certain sectors to benefit from the rising middle class such as consumer staples, healthcare and banking.