A new poll finds one-third of Indians surveyed say they are “suffering” due to a poor quality of life.

According to a Gallup survey released Monday, India's poorest and least educated are most likely to be “suffering,” while 56 percent of those surveyed were “struggling” and only 13 percent were “thriving”.

The survey found the difference in the level of suffering between the most-educated Indians – at eight percent, and the least educated Indians – at 35 percent, indicates the gap between the “haves and the have-nots may actually be widening.”

Gallup said improving education standards is the best way for India to reduce the level of suffering among its people.

India has been struggling with high inflation and high interest rates that have slowed the country's economic growth.

The company said the results might have been skewed because the survey was conducted before harvest time in early 2012, which meant many farmers “likely had gone without pay for several months”.

The poll was conducted between Jan. 29 and March 8 of this year. The U.S.-based research company asked roughly 5,000 Indians, age 15 or older, to rate their current lives and future expectations on a scale of 0 to 10. The poll's margin of error is 1.7 percentage points.