Happiness: the European Values Survey 2013

Which citizens of Europe are the happiest? The decennial (every 10 years) European Values Survey (EVS) seeks to find the answers through a series of questions on social topics. It measures and analyses happiness, or satisfaction, on a range of issues, as well as sef-assessed behavioural tendencies (www.gorbi.com), reported in Financial (30 December, 2013, www.finchannel.com).

The EVS is conducted in each European country, asking the same questions. To the question, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?” Respondents were asked to place themselves on a 1-10 life satisfaction scale (with 1 being the most dissatisfied). Citizens from Northern Ireland and Luxembourg were the most satisfied with their life.

The results for the top 12 countries on the EVS life satisfaction scale are:

Luxembourg: 7.88

Northern Ireland: 7.88

Malta: 7.84

Ireland: 7.82

Kosovo: 6.89

Greece: 6.85

Germany: 6.77

Moldovia: 6.53

Lithuania: 6.39

Latvia: 6.37

Hungary: 6.31

Georgia: 5.46

Respondents who said they frequently discussed politics with friends were 0.12 points below the average life satisfaction rate, whereas those who said that they never discussed politics with friends were 0.12 more satisfied.

Respondents who said that they would rather not live near right or left wing political extremists were more satisfied than their peers (0.08 and 0.12 points above the average respectively). Those that would rather not live near homosexuals or people with AIDS were the least happy (-0.50 and -0.44 below the average).

Those who thought that luck played a vital role in the happiness of people’s lives were less happy than the average respondent (-0.10 below the mean/average), but those who found fault in society’s injustice were the least happy (-0.41 below the mean). Respondents who felt that modern economic advancement unavoidably leaves some people in need were more satisfied than others (0.31 points above the mean) and those who said the problems of the needy and poor were due to their own laziness were also more satisfied with their own life (0.32 points above the average.

The survey teams concluded that one factor in living a more satisfied life is to avoid discussing politics. In addition, they concluded that either “loving thy neighbour” led to happiness, or those who are already happy with their lives are accepting of, and more tolerant towards, a wider variety of people.