David Cameron's attempts to chart the nation's happiness alongside economic data gas been published today by the Office of National Statistics. The data, gathered between April 2011 and March 2012, compares happiness and anxiety levels by sex, age, ethnicity and other demographic factors. It reveals that people aged 16-19 and 65-79 recorded satisfaction levels considerably higher than the British average of 7.4 out of 10. Analysis of responses according to ethnicity, revealed the Indian population recorded the highest levels of satisfaction – 7.5 out of 10 – and the black population the lowest, at just 6.7. Anxiety ratings were highest among the Arab population, among whom the average response was 3.7, compared with a national average of 3.1. When asked about day-to-day emotions, 10.9 per cent of people in the UK rated their ‘happiness yesterday’ as less than 5 out of 10 (indicating lower happiness). For the ‘anxious yesterday’ question, 21.8 per cent reported a rating of more than 5 (indicating higher anxiety)
To go directly to the report, just click on our happy first minister above.
