Irish among happiest, healthiest in EU, survey finds

People living in Ireland are among the happiest, healthiest and most satisfied in Europe, according to a new survey.

The Second European Quality of Life Surveywas carried out by Dublin-based EU agency Eurofound between September 2007 and February 2008. It questioned 35,000 people in the 27 EU member states, the three candidate countries and Norway.

Irish respondents gave themselves a rating of eight out of a possible 10 in terms of happiness, a figure bettered only by the four Scandinavian countries.

Irish levels of satisfaction are well above average, trailing only behind the Scandinavian nations, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. The least satisfied people in Europe are in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Hungary.

Almost 90 per cent of Irish respondents said they were cheerful and in good spirits more than half the time.

Three-quarters said they found it easy to make ends meet, and 42 per cent said they regarded themselves as well paid. Some 62 per cent said it was unlikely they would lose their jobs in the next 12 months, while less than 4 per cent felt it very likely they would lose their jobs.

Some 57 per cent of respondents said there was “some tension” between rich and poor in Ireland, with 16 per cent reporting “a lot of tension”. One in five said there was no tension at all.

Irish people rated their health at 7.8 out of 10, joint sixth out of the 31 countries surveyed. Just 3 per cent of those polled in Ireland described their health as bad or very bad, compared to 9 per cent across the EU.

Some 13 per cent of respondents in Ireland said they suffered from a long-term physical or mental health issue, illness or disability. People’s perceived levels of health decrease over time, with the over-65s reporting the worst health and the 18-35 age group the best.

However, on the issue of access to good quality health care, the Irish rate their health care system on a par with Greece and Portugal, just ahead of Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Nearly three-quarters of Irish respondents said they were optimistic about the future, while just under 15 per cent said they were pessimistic. Only the Scandinavians, Dutch and Belgians are more optimistic than the Irish. Less than half of those questioned in France, Italy and Portugal were optimistic about the future.

The survey finds that people with high incomes, good health and better educations are, unsurprisingly, generally happier and more fulfilled. Those living with partners and children also reported higher levels of satisfaction with life.

When asked if most people can be trusted, respondents in Ireland were slightly more positive than the EU average. In terms of politics, levels of trust in the government were equal with Germany and Greece but far behind the leaders Denmark and Turkey.

When asked about relationships between different racial and ethnic groups, 53 per cent of respondents said there was “some tension” in Ireland, compared to an EU average of 47 per cent. Nearly a third of people said there was “a lot of tension” here. The populations experiencing the highest levels of racial strife were the Netherlands, Italy and France. The lowest was Bulgaria.

Eighteen per cent of Irish people said there were high levels of religious tension in Ireland, well below the EU average of 29 per cent. Just under a quarter said there was no religious tension in Ireland.