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HAPPINESS

It’s true: One in two French people are actually happy

Numerous studies in the past have suggested that the French are a morose bunch who suffer from "collective depression". But in fact, one in two of them consider themselves to be "happy", according to new figures.

Published: 1 February 2018 16:20 CET
It's true: One in two French people are actually happy
Photo: AFP
Considering the standard of living and general quality of life available in France, the country regularly scores badly on happiness rankings. 
 
But according to new results from a recent poll carried out by polling institute BVA-Gallup for Le Point, which shows that one in two French people consider themselves to be “happy”, perhaps they're starting to feel a little bit more positive about life.
 
And while the results only show a small upwards shift (one point) on 2016, it marks the first time since 2013 that 50 percent of French people consider themselves to be “happy”. 
 
Indeed, eight percent of respondents said they were “very happy” while 42 percent opted for “happy”.
 
This compares to 42 percent who said they were “neither happy nor unhappy”, 6 percent who said unhappy and 1 percent who did not respond (see below). 
 
Graph: Le Point
 
The French are also more confident in the future, in total, 26 percent of respondents believed that 2018 would be better than 2017. 
 
Both the happiest and the most confident about the future were those aged 18-24 and those in stable life situations, including executives, people living in couples and those working full-time. 
 
Photo: AFP
 
The poll also showed that the French have more and more confidence in the economy, with just 33 percent of people fearing economic difficulties in the future compared to 47 percent last year and 59 percent in 2013. 
 
However despite the shift, when compared to other countries around the world the French are a long way from being the happiest. 
 
The study which covers 57 countries shows that Fijians are the happiest in the world (94 percent), followed by Colombians (89 percent) and the Philippines (86 percent). 
 
In fact, France comes in at a measly 41st place between Brazil and Italy and nine percentage points below the world average of 59 percent.
 
At the bottom of the list are Azerbaijan (42 percent), Greece (41 percent), Iraq (34 percent), Iran (33 percent) and Ukraine (26 percent).
 
And the same goes for confidence in the future, with France coming 46th place, just behind Armenia. 
 
But while that may not sound too positive, just three years ago France was in the penultimate place so that's certainly something to smile about. 
 
READ ALSO:

Why schools are to blame for the French being so glum

Photo: AFP

HAPPINESS

Just how happy are people in Germany?

The newest “Glücksatlas” (happiness index) measures overall life satisfaction every year. The coronavirus crisis has definitely been a powerful damper on the happiness of people everywhere. What role does age, gender, and region play, and how happy are folks in Germany?

Published: 19 November 2020 16:45 CET
Just how happy are people in Germany?
The pandemic does not stop this woman in Norderney, Lower Saxony from jumping on the beach. Photo: DPA

Less social contact, homeschooling, and dramatically reduced work life: The coronavirus crisis has hampered life satisfaction and happiness of people in Germany.

On a scale from 0 to 10, the respondents rated their contentment on average at 6.74 points, compared to the all-time high of 7.14 in 2019. This came from the new Happiness Index presented on Wednesday in Bonn.  

Nevertheless, “We are not in a ball of frustration,” said Bernd Raffelhüschen, Professor of public finance at the University of Freiburg, who created the tenth happiness index for the Deutsche Post.

Despite the pandemic the slump was relatively moderate, as the general level of happiness is still “in the upper middle field” of the scale. 

The Institute for Public Opinion Research in Allensbach asked a small group of 4,700 residents age 16 and up from March until June during the first lockdown.

Further data came from a long-term study from the German Institute for Economic Research (Ipso) as well as an Ipso's survey from June 2020.

READ ALSO: Here's where the happiest (and unhappiest) people live in Germany

According to the Happiness Index, men lost less contentment (minus 0.33 points) than women, who on average went down almost half a point, at 0.47 points.

The primary reason for this is that women were often strained on the front lines of the crisis, as mothers had to bear the heavy load of childcare and homeschooling. In addition, the life satisfaction of respondents from families with three or more children dropped at a rate above average, minus 0.9 points. 

Broken down into age groups, those between 45 and 59 years old lost the most contentment, as their rates dropped by 0.48 points.

According to the researchers, this age group is under particular economic stress. They often have more loans to pay off, older children to financially support, and must also make provisions for retirement. 

Declining regional differences

According to the report, the differences among regions have shrunk. The happiness of people in West Germany sank by 0,42 points, thus more than in East Germany (which dropped 0.3 points). 

“The coronavirus crisis is hitting the West harder, with higher infection rates coupled with more severe economic upheavals,” reported the researchers. The influence of the pandemic has almost equalized overall life satisfaction levels. Last year, the difference among regions was rather small. 

The happiest people live in the north: those living in Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg score 6.92 points on the scale, respectively. Thuringia comes at the bottom of the list at 6.50 points, and is the only east German state that has experienced a marked decrease in life satisfaction rates.

Objective reasons are not readily apparent, relayed Raffelhüschen. In any case, regional comparisons have rather limited informative values, due to smaller sample sizes and an adapted methodology. 

 
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