Who are the happiest Europeans?

According to INSEE, the French are as happy in their lives as ten years ago! We are almost as much as our European neighbors. Logically, wealthy, young, healthy and couple people are more satisfied than average. In 2023, the French aged 16 and over attributed an average of a note of 7.2 out of 10 to the life that they currently lead, slightly lower than the European average (7.3), and stable compared to 2014 ( 7,1), according to the Statistical Survey on Household Resources and Living Conditions (SRCV) published by the National Institute of Statistics.

At European level, the lowest note concerns Bulgaria (5.9). It is in Finland (7.8), Belgium, Austria and Slovenia (7.7) that she is the highest.

Are the French happy?

In France, more than 17,000 households, or around 38,000 people, responded to the survey in 2023, according to INSEE. The households interviewed reside in “ordinary housing”, specifies the institute. People residing in community are therefore not concerned (establishments for the elderly, workers’ households, etc.), in mobile or homeless housing.

Half of the French questioned attribute a note of 7 or 8 out of 10 to the life they lead. Almost one in five (19 %) are particularly satisfied (note 9 or 10) when 6 % are dissatisfied (4 or less).

This well-being measure has been stable for ten years in France, with the exception of the year 2021, where it dropped to 6.8 following the COVID-19 epidemic and health restrictions.

People in poor health feel less well-being (5.6), compared to 8.0 for people judging themselves “in very good health”.

Money is happy

Satisfaction in life and standard of living go hand in hand: the 20 % of people with the lowest standard of living declare an average satisfaction of 6.6 out of 10, compared to 7.8 for the 20 % of people with the levels of highest life.

Among the 20 % of the wealthiest citizens, three -quarters feel “often or most of the time happy”, against half of the people of the fifth the most modest.

Young people feel the most satisfied with their lives, with a note of 7.6 for 16-29 year olds.

More articles on social subjects

People as a couple, and especially with children, feel more well-being (7.5 with children, 7.4 without children), against single-parent families (6.7) and single people (6.8).