Eurostat News Release: 20 March 2015: International Day of Happiness – How satisfied are people with their lives in the European Union? A new multi-dimensional data collection, 19 Μαρτίου 2015.
“Overall, how satisfied are you with your life these days?” people across the European Union (EU) were asked. Life satisfaction represents how a respondent evaluates or appraises his or her life taken as a whole. It has a prominent role as it can be regarded as a key indicator of subjective well-being. On a scale from 0 (“not satisfied at all”) to 10 (“fully satisfied”), nearly 80% of residents aged 16 and over in the EU rated their overall life satisfaction in 2013 at 6 and higher, with an average (mean) satisfaction of 7.1.
Life satisfaction is a multi-dimensional concept, which is very much shaped by various socio-demographic factors which lead to different living situations as well as to different expectations and preferences. While women and men are almost equally satisfied, health condition appears to be one main determining factor in life satisfaction, ahead of factors such as financial position, situation on the labour market or social relations.
On the occasion of the International Day of Happiness on 20 March 2015, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes a selection of subjective indicators on well-being of people in Europe. These data on subjective evaluations and perceptions in different domains have been collected for the first time in a comparable way in European official statistics.
The figures in this News Release, as well as those presented in a dedicated article on the Eurostat website, represent the first findings from among the large amount of quality of life indicators which will be published in June 2015 as part of a comprehensive package.
