Only a quarter of people are satisfied with their life, survey finds
Ottoline Spearman
Only a quarter of people surveyed last year reported feeling satisfied with their lives.
Meanwhile, nearly half of the surveyed people living in poverty have reported feeling depressed.
Over 41 per cent of respondents said they felt downhearted or depressed, as compared with over 14 per cent of those who were not living in poverty, according to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions which was released by the CSO on Wednesday.
The survey looked at a broad range of topics relating to income and living conditions, where respondents aged 16 and over were asked to rate their satisfaction levels in the four weeks prior to interview, on a scale from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).
In general, just over a quarter (26.5 per cent) of respondents reported feeling satisfied with their life - a marginal increase from the previous year.
Meanwhile, satisfaction relating to households' financial situations had decreased to 17.7 per cent, down from 18.2 per cent.
Those aged 65 and over were more likely to report satisfaction with their life, with 36.5 per cent saying they were overall satisfied, compared with 22 per cent for those aged between 25 to 49.
The survey also found that female respondents were more likely to report feeling downhearted or depressed, with 20 per cent of female respondents reporting negative feelings as compared with around 11 per cent of male respondents.
The same pattern also emerged when it came to loneliness, with 18 per cent of females reporting this, with the comparable rate for male respondents at 11.8 per cent.
The mean satisfaction score - calculated through adding individual scores and dividing it by the number of individuals - for household financial satisfaction was higher at 7.2 for owner-occupiers, than 5.9 for respondents in rented accommodation in 2025.
Respondents who were unable to work due to long-standing health problems had the lowest mean overall life satisfaction score, at 5.8, compared with retired respondents, at 8.0.
