Among 27 Countries, Bulgaria Ranks Last
Poland and Romania with Lower Income Show Higher Happiness Levels
To understand the trend of subjective happiness among European citizens, Eurostat publishes an annual 'Quality of Life Index' based on surveys conducted across Europe. Among these, last year, Austria was found to be the country with the highest life satisfaction among the 27 European Union (EU) member states.
According to the British daily The Independent on the 14th (local time), Eurostat, the EU statistical agency, surveyed the 'Quality of Life Index' for 2022 and found that Austria scored 7.9 out of 10 in subjective life satisfaction, ranking first.
Last year, among the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU), Austria was found to have the highest life satisfaction among its citizens. [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]
Poland, Finland, and Romania each scored 7.7, tying for second place. Italy, Spain, and France, known as the EU's three major economies, recorded scores around the overall average of 7.1, placing them in the middle ranks.
The country at the bottom was Bulgaria, the only one among the 27 countries to score below 6, with 5.6 points.
Eurostat explained, "The average life satisfaction score across all EU member states is 7.1, indicating that EU citizens were generally satisfied with their lives last year," adding, "Factors such as education level, family, and financial stability had an overall impact on respondents' life satisfaction rather than mere wealth."
It further noted, "The fact that Romania and Poland, which have relatively low income levels, rank among the top in happiness demonstrates the complex relationship between economic welfare and subjective happiness."
Germany, which ranked 26th in this survey, saw a sharp drop from 7.1 points in the previous annual survey to 6.5 points in just one year.
According to the British daily The Times, a recent survey by the Reingold Institute targeting German citizens found that 20% of respondents reported being "overwhelmed by anxiety," and 9% described themselves as "apathetic and introverted."
The Independent analyzed that this anxiety among German citizens appears to be related to Germany's recent economic recession, the Ukraine war, and refugee issues.
South Korea Ranks 57th in Self-Rated Happiness Among 137 Countries
Earlier, on December 3rd, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) under the United Nations released the "2023 World Happiness Report," which showed that South Koreans rated their own happiness at 5.951 out of 10, ranking 57th among 137 countries worldwide. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Over the past 30 years, South Korea has rapidly accumulated wealth through remarkable growth, but the happiness felt by Koreans remains in the lower ranks globally.
Earlier, according to the '2023 World Happiness Report' released on December 3 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), South Koreans rated their happiness at 5.951 out of 10, ranking 57th among 137 countries worldwide.
Compared to the 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korea's happiness level was among the lowest. Only three countries scored lower than South Korea: Greece (5.931), Colombia (5.630), and T?rkiye (4.614).
Finland (7.804) ranked first in happiness for the sixth consecutive year. Within the top 10, except for Israel at 4th place (7.473) and New Zealand at 10th (7.123), most were European countries. Following Finland were Denmark (7.586), Iceland (7.530), Israel (7.473), and the Netherlands (7.403).
In Asia, Singapore (6.587) ranked highest at 25th, followed by the United Arab Emirates (6.571) at 26th and Taiwan (6.535) at 27th. Saudi Arabia (30th), Kazakhstan (44th), Uzbekistan (54th), and Malaysia (55th) also ranked higher than South Korea. South Korea's happiness was higher than China (64th), a major trading partner, but far behind Japan (47th) and the United States (15th).
The country with the lowest happiness index among the 137 was Afghanistan (1.859). Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine since February last year, ranked 70th (5.661), while Ukraine ranked much lower at 92nd (5.071).
The report identified six factors influencing happiness: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, community generosity (tolerance), and corruption index.
Based on these, South Korea's happiness index showed a slight increase in the happiness level influenced by GDP per capita from 1.851 last year to 1.853 this year, but healthy life expectancy dropped significantly from 0.841 to 0.603. The 'freedom to make life choices' slightly rose from 0.414 last year to 0.446 this year but remained low overall.
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