Fifty-two percent of Americans now hold a favorable view of the country's direction

Fifty-two percent  of Americans now hold a favorable view of the country's direction, a CNN/ORC International poll found. 

Nearly a third of people thought the economy “is starting to recover from the problems it faced in the past few years.” 

Attitudes have rebounded significantly since the incredibly negative outlooks during the nadir of the economic recession. With one exception, 40 percent or more Americans have responded positively to the poll since 2012.

The most recent poll does indicate a gender and geographic split. More men than women think things are going well in America and that the economy is recovering.

And those in the Northeast and Midwest are more positive about things than respondents throughout the south and west. 

The poll was conducted through 1,045 telephone interviews done from Nov. 21 to 23. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.