Happy by Weird Beard (Flickr.com)
A European report released last month analyses one the most talked-about measurements in the media, happiness. Happiness scales are fast becoming a respected measure of well-being in a country, equal to wealth and power. The European Quality of Life Survey puts Scandinavian countries at the top of the happiness charts, with other northern European countries in the middle.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the UK is the 11th happiest country in Europe, with 71.8 percent of adults aged over 16 rating their life satisfaction as seven or more out of 10. This is slightly higher than the European average of 69.3 percent, and similar to Germany (72.3%), and France (71.6%). It’s a long way behind the happiest nations of Denmark (91%) and Finland (89.8%).
Bulgarian citizens were the least satisfied with life the report suggests, with only 38.3% giving it a score of at least seven out of 10 or higher.
The report reveals that in the UK, people have less of an attachment with their local communities – 58.4 percent said they felt close to other people in their area, compared with a EU-wide average of 66.6 percent. In fact, the UK had the second lowest overall score for community spirit.
The UK was also close to the bottom in the category “support for serious personal or family matter” with 88.7 percent saying they could rely on family, friends or neighbours for help. This was the third lowest, with an EU average of 93 percent.
On a more positive note, British people appear to be happy with their family life, giving an average score of 8.2 out of 10, compared with the EU average of 7.8 out of 10. More than eight in 10 (81.9%) Britons also said they felt that what they did in life was worthwhile.
Mark Williamson, director of Action For Happiness said: “The true measure of a successful society is the happiness and wellbeing of its people. And sadly compared to our Northern European neighbours, the UK is still only a mid-table performer.
“Real progress is about much more than just growing the economy and we could – and should – be doing so much better at creating the conditions for people to lead happy lives. In particular, as our culture has become more individualistic and materialistic, levels of trust and social cohesion have fallen, which in turn undermines happiness. We should also be doing much more to help those whose wellbeing is the lowest, especially by investing more in mental health services.”