Amman – The results of a survey published by the official European Union agency, Eurostat, revealed that “Bulgaria” is the unhappiest country in the European Union, while “Austria” is ranked the happiest.
With an overall life satisfaction rating of 5.6 out of 10, Bulgaria was the only country among the 27 member states surveyed where residents rated themselves, on average, as dissatisfied.
Germany was the second most miserable country on the continent, with a rating of 6.5, a sharp drop from last year’s score of 7.1.
While the survey did not ask respondents to give specific reasons for their self-evaluation, multiple polls conducted this month showed widespread dissatisfaction with the German government, which is facing a financial crisis and a crisis of confidence, problems that many believe are entirely of the government’s making.
Greece ranked third among the unhappiest countries, with an average life satisfaction score of 6.7. While Austria was the happiest country on the continent, where residents rated their happiness at 7.9. Finland, Poland and Romania ranked second on the list of happiest countries with a score of 7.7.
The ratings appear to support the idea that money can’t buy happiness, with neither Romania nor second-placed Poland enjoying high per capita incomes in 2022, and Romanians earning lower incomes on average than their more miserable neighbors in Bulgaria.
Young people (aged 16-29) were generally happier than those over 65, especially in Croatia, where there was a 1.6-point gap between the two groups’ life satisfaction ratings. While the two groups reported equal happiness in Germany, older Danes actually enjoyed more life satisfaction (0.9 points more) than their younger adult counterparts.
Education level appears to be the most reliable indicator of life satisfaction in all 27 member states.
Individuals with university degrees reported higher levels of happiness than their peers who had dropped out of school, up to 1.6 points higher in Slovakia.
Having children was also associated with greater happiness. Families with children reported life satisfaction scores 0.6 points higher than single-person families.
While five of the top 10 in the World Happiness Report 2023, published in March, were from EU member states, only Finland, which came in first, was among the highest scores on both lists.
Denmark, which was ranked as the second happiest country in the world in the report, was also the only European country to have managed to reduce its consumption of antidepressants in the past decade. It ranked seventh in life satisfaction in the Eurostat report.
Source: RT
