News reports may be bleak but we appear to be a happy nation on the whole according to our wellbeing survey, inspired by Government plans to measure how ‘happy’ Brits are. Data from the same survey also reveals that our happiness is most affected by our relationships with family members and how well our finances are doing, but that how we feel about our family is almost twice as important as how we feel about our friends.
- 18% of people say the last time they felt really happy was today
- 27% say it was within the past week
- 22% say it was longer than a month ago
- The average Brit’s current well-being is 6.1, where 10 out of 10 is ‘completely happy’
- The over 60s are among the happiest of all age groups as 23% say they last felt happy ‘today’, compared to 16% of those over 25 and 11% of those aged 18-24.
The results of this survey are also explored in this Commentary
Do you feel generally positive or negative about…?
Which four things are most important for your general wellbeing? [Top 5 chosen factors from a list of 10 options including 'None of these']
Measuring wellbeing
Prime Minister David Cameron has given the go-ahead for the UK’s Office for National Statistics to begin a project measuring the psychological and physical well-being of UK citizens.
Although critics have questioned the validity, scope and cost of such a project, it is hoped that alongside usual measurements of GDP, the data collected will help provide a fuller picture as to Britain’s progress and help the Government form relevant policies in response.
