News Centre

Happy Danes are here again

17 April 2007

Denmark tops the bill in European happiness survey - but Britain is gloomier than most of its EU peers

The Danish have emerged as the happiest people in Europe, while the British rank a mere ninth, according to a new University of Cambridge study on happiness.

The report, which applies new techniques for understanding European well-being, also suggests that people in Scotland, Wales and most parts of England consider themselves less happy now than they were four years ago.

Researchers at the University's Faculty of Economics, who are unveiling the first stage of their findings on the subject, say the slump in public contentment could be due to flagging trust in the Government and other institutions.

Their preliminary report provides a full assessment of the results of the European Social Survey into well-being, which began in 2002.

Every two years, approximately 20,000 people throughout the 180 regions are asked to rate both their overall happiness and longer-term sense of fulfilment ("life satisfaction") out of 10. The scores are then cross-referred with the results of a more extensive survey, designed by a team of leading psychologists, which asks questions ranging from "How religious are you?" to "How much do you personally trust the police?" The aim is to identify not just where in Europe people are happiest, but why, with a view to informing policy.

After two years of compilation and analysis, trends are now emerging for the 15 states who were EU members in 2004 (the so-called "EU 15"), enabling a region-by-region breakdown of people's happiness.

In Scotland, Wales, the north of England and the south-west, the average score out of 10 for happiness was about 7.5 at the last count, compared with a result closer to 8 in 2002. The only regions to return a consistent 8/10 score were East Anglia, London and the East Midlands. The average score for life satisfaction remained steady at around 7.

The averages leave Britain ranking 9th for happiness in the table of 15 European countries, and 10th for life satisfaction. People in Denmark were the happiest and most satisfied, while the Italians and the Portuguese were deemed the most miserable.

The map of European well-being also puts paid to some long-standing national stereotypes. In particular, the idea that people are happiest along the sunny banks of the Mediterranean does not appear to be true. Italy, Portugal and Greece are consistently among the lowest-scoring countries in the survey, while the highest scores were registered in the chillier surrounds of Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, as well as among the table-topping Danes.

Women generally classed themselves as happier than men, while the old and young tended to be happier than people in their middle years.

The Cambridge team has now begun to analyse what makes people in some countries happier than others. One of the most consistent trends is that those with the highest levels of happiness also reported the highest levels of trust in their governments, the police and the justice system, as well as those around them. Happier people also tended to have plenty of friends and acquaintances, as well as at least one very close friend, or a partner.

The report also appears to confirm the old adage that money can't buy you happiness. In countries where the population generally said that they trusted the government and other institutions, a high income made people happier still - but in those countries where such trust was lacking (such as Italy), even the very rich tended to be unhappy. The degree to which people had been educated had a similarly limited impact on their overall well-being. But the degree to which peoples' jobs gave them a sense of self-respect did appear to influence their happiness levels.

Dr Luisa Corrado, who led the research, said: "People throughout the EU appear to be relatively happy, and no area scored below five in terms of either happiness or life satisfaction. The most important factors influencing happiness appear to be the quality of our social interaction with others and the confidence we have in our country's institutions.

"The survey shows that trust in society is very, very important. The countries that scored highest for happiness also reported the highest levels of trust in their governments, laws and each other. The UK shows falling trust in government, the police and other institutions and higher social distrust, which might explain why the level of happiness among British people has also fallen."

Many of the happiest countries in the survey - the Scandinavian members, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - also come top of the World Bank Governance Indicators, which seek to assess the quality of a country's government. Likewise those EU 15 countries that scored worst in terms of governance (Italy, Portugal and Greece) tended to come bottom in the happiness survey as well.

Unhappy people are unlikely to change their lives simply by hopping on the next plane to Copenhagen, however. People who were indigenous citizens of the country they lived in tended to be happier than those who were not, probably because these people usually know more of the people around them and have wider social networks.

"The message to policy-makers is that they should therefore promote social inclusion, because that brings the psychological integration that is essential to happiness," Dr Corrado added. "One thing that is clear from the report is that it is not enough for governments to focus on improving wealth. Our well-being would be more likely to flourish in a mutually supportive and trusting society. The question is: Are governments addressing these issues?"

Notes for Editors:

1. Dr Luisa Corrado is Marie-Curie Fellow at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. The report was compiled by Dr Corrado and Aqib Aslam, a PhD researcher also based in the Faculty of Economics at Cambridge.

2. The European Social Survey (the ESS) is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. Now in its third round, the survey covers over 20 nations and employs the most rigorous methodologies. The fieldwork has been funded through the European Commission's fifth and sixth Framework Programme, the European Science Foundation and national funding bodies in each country. Analysis of the results of the 2006 survey, which will be the first covering the experiences of people in the EU states that joined in 2004, is expected to begin at Cambridge this summer. For more information about the ESS, visit the website http://naticent02.uuhost.uk.uu.net/

3. The Centre for International Macroeconomics and Finance (CIMF) and the Faculty of Economics are organising a one-day workshop on Friday, May 11th 2007, at Trinity College Cambridge. This will bring together researchers and practitioners who are working on general aspects of income convergence and well-being, as well as the empirics of spatial and regional economic analysis. Work in this branch of economics has been particularly active of late and the workshop will seek to explore the new directions this recent work has been taking.

EU 15 league table, showing rankings by happiness and life satisfaction as at 2004.

National average happiness

1. Denmark - 8.311952

2. Finland - 8.056492

3. Ireland - 7.981235

4. Sweden - 7.841779

5. Netherlands - 7.784688

6. Luxembourg - 7.749727

7. Belgium - 7.745915

8. Austria - 7.591915

9. United Kingdom - 7.469677

10. Spain - 7.325727

11. France - 7.315082

12. Germany - 7.065542

13. Greece - 6.798426

14. Portugal 6.539611

15. Italy - 6.275015

National average life-satisfaction

1. Denmark - 8.464286

2. Finland - 7.995543

3. Sweden - 7.842159

4. Luxembourg - 7.731992

5. Ireland - 7.716034

6. Netherlands - 7.571846

7. Austria - 7.504677

8. Belgium - 7.431064

9. Spain - 7.130189

10. United Kingdom 7.115548

11. Germany - 6.793643

12. Italy - 6.510615

13. France - 6.441719

14. Greece - 6.417754

15. Portugal - 5.683351

For more information, contact:

• Tom Kirk, Communications Office, University of Cambridge, Tel: 01223 332300, mobile 07917 535815, Email: tdk25@admin.cam.ac.uk

  For interviews, copies of the report and maps showing happiness levels in Britain and Europe please contact the Office of Communications at the University of Cambridge, as listed above. Lists showing where each country ranks in terms of happiness and life satisfaction as at 2004 (the most recent data available) are enclosed with this document.