Overall life satisfaction in the European Union averaged 7.1 in 2022, new data from Eurostat has found, down marginally on the 7.3 recorded in 2018, and consistent with the level recorded in 2013.
The satisfaction scale, which ranks from 0 (not satisfied at all) to 10 (fully satisfied), also asked EU citizens whether they were satisfied with their financial situation. In 2022, this stood at 6.6, level with 2018 (6.6) and up on 2013 (6.0), when the lingering effects of the economic downturn were still being felt.
In terms of satisfaction with personal relationships, meanwhile, this stood at 7.8 in 2022, down marginally from 8.0 in 2018, and on a par with 2013’s score of 7.8.
‘Always’ happy
On a pan-European basis, some 65.2% of men and 62.8% of women reported being ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ happy in 2022, albeit with notable variations among countries.
Spain boasted the highest percentage of individuals that answered they were ‘always’ happy, at 22.8%, followed by Portugal (19.0%) and Greece (17.3%).
Other EU countries to rank highly included Belgium (16.1%), France (15.8%) and Poland (15.5%). Data for Germany was not available.
Life satisfaction and education
Interesting trends can be observed when examining life satisfaction based on educational attainment, Eurostat’s data showed, with satisfaction with financial situations and personal relationships tending to increase with higher levels of education.
For example, satisfaction with financial situations ranged from 6.0 among those with lower secondary education to 7.1 among those with tertiary education. Similarly, satisfaction with personal relationships varied from 7.6 among lower secondary education holders to 8.0 among tertiary education holders.
At the same time, satisfaction with personal time use, such as leisure time, showed a reverse trend. Those with lower educational attainment reported slightly higher satisfaction, with scores of 6.9 for lower secondary education, 6.8 for upper secondary, and 6.6 for tertiary education.
Life satisfaction by European country
| Country | Always | Most of the Time | Sometimes | Rarely | Never | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 16.1% | 62.3% | 16.4% | 4.1% | 1.0% | 0.2% |
| Bulgaria | 4.8% | 31.7% | 38.5% | 15.1% | 2.3% | 7.6% |
| Czechia | 4.4% | 38.6% | 39.8% | 10.6% | 1.4% | 5.3% |
| Denmark | 6.2% | 58.5% | 23.1% | 9.0% | 1.8% | 1.4% |
| Germany | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Estonia | 5.4% | 44.7% | 35.3% | 11.3% | 3.3% | 0.0% |
| Ireland | 7.9% | 65.6% | 22.0% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 0.0% |
| Greece | 17.3% | 40.7% | 27.7% | 10.7% | 3.5% | 0.0% |
| Spain | 22.8% | 44.5% | 26.0% | 4.8% | 1.9% | 0.0% |
| France | 15.8% | 50.6% | 24.2% | 6.7% | 2.2% | 0.5% |
| Croatia | 5.8% | 39.7% | 39.5% | 9.9% | 2.1% | 2.9% |
| Italy | 14.1% | 41.2% | 33.7% | 6.2% | 1.4% | 3.4% |
| Cyprus | 10.5% | 55.3% | 26.1% | 6.3% | 1.3% | 0.5% |
| Latvia | 6.1% | 30.7% | 38.4% | 16.6% | 6.4% | 1.7% |
| Lithuania | 11.5% | 36.6% | 32.3% | 9.2% | 2.5% | 8.0% |
| Luxembourg | 14.2% | 62.7% | 17.3% | 4.2% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| Hungary | 12.0% | 50.4% | 25.3% | 10.8% | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| Malta | 5.5% | 56.4% | 28.2% | 6.2% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Netherlands | 10.6% | 65.1% | 19.4% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
| Austria | 13.0% | 60.9% | 19.8% | 5.3% | 1.0% | 0.0% |
| Poland | 15.5% | 58.4% | 18.3% | 5.7% | 0.7% | 1.4% |
| Portugal | 19.0% | 46.9% | 24.2% | 7.0% | 2.1% | 0.9% |
| Romania | 5.4% | 39.8% | 37.7% | 11.8% | 1.6% | 3.7% |
| Slovenia | 10.5% | 55.8% | 24.5% | 7.6% | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| Slovakia | 10.1% | 46.1% | 28.4% | 6.7% | 1.5% | 7.3% |
| Sweden | 6.3% | 63.0% | 23.8% | 6.1% | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| Finland | 7.3% | 66.7% | 19.4% | 5.4% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
| Norway | 8.9% | 48.2% | 31.3% | 10.4% | 1.1% | 0.2% |
| Switzerland | 13.8% | 62.8% | 18.8% | 3.8% | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| Montenegro | 9.8% | 44.2% | 31.4% | 7.3% | 1.5% | 5.7% |
| Serbia | 8.5% | 43.6% | 32.3% | 9.5% | 4.4% | 1.6% |
| Turkey | 17.0% | 39.7% | 30.6% | 10.2% | 2.5% | 0.0% |
