How happy are the Hungarians?

On a scale from 1 to 10 that represents how satisfied people are with their lives Hungarians ranked an average of 6.1 points. Young adults, people with higher education, and those living in big cities are the happiest, writes vilaggazdasag.hu.

On average, Hungarian people are satisfied with their lives to 6.1 points on a scale from 1 to 10, revealed the Hungarian Central Statistical Office’s (KSH) recent survey. This number is equal to that in 2013.

According to the 2015 results, 28% of the Hungarians are really satisfied with their lives (answered with 8, 9, or 10 points), and 5.2% are really unsatisfied (0, 1, or 2 points).

Both the 2013 and the 2015 results show that young adults form the most satisfied category, and people’s happiness decreases with age, especially between the age of 45 and 54. There was a mild increase in the age group 55-74 according to the 2013 survey, but the 2015 results show no change. Both reviews reported that people who are 74 years old or older are the most dissatisfied with their lives.

In 2015, 44% percent of the Hungarians between the ages of 16 and 24 said that they are very satisfied, and this number decreases with age; it was only 17% in the oldest group. Between the ages of 16 and 64, women are happier, but it reverses after the age of 65, when men are more satisfied with their lives.

Those with the highest level of education tend to be more satisfied with their lives on average. Similar to the 2013 results, people with a basic level of education are the least satisfied (the average is 5.3 points), while those with higher education have a 7.0 average. The biggest gap is between those without a high school diploma (the average is 5.8 points), and those who finished high school (the average is 6.4 points).

Those who are employed and work 8 hours a day are the most satisfied (the average is 6.6 points), in the non-working group, students are the most satisfied by far; the average is 7.3 points. Among the unemployed, only the stay-at-home mothers/fathers reached the national average (6.1 points), all the other non-working groups scored lower, and the unemployed are the most dissatisfied (4.6 points) which shows that unemployment is not only an economic issue, but burdens people psychically and mentally as well.

The scores of 2013 and 2015 have changed regarding the place of residence. The average of big cities (chief town of a county or a city with county rights) increased from 6.3 points in 2013 to 6.4 points in 2015. The average in Budapest (6.2 points) and in smaller cities (6.3) has not changed. The average satisfaction of those living in villages has decreased further in 2015 to 5.9 points.

While Western Transdanubia was the most satisfied region in 2013, it dropped to second place in 2015 with a 6.4 points average, and Central Transdanubia took the first place with an average of 6.5 points. Those living in the Southern Great Plain are happier than the national average (6.3 points), while people in Southern Transdanubia and Northern Hungary are the least satisfied with their lives (the average for both regions is 5.8 points).

One of the most important factors of people’s natural well-being and happiness depends on how satisfied and fulfilled they are in their work, in their private lives, in a hobby, or in sport, and how successful they are. This was measured by the question of evaluating the meaningfulness of individual activities (0 – not meaningful at all, 10 – very meaningful). The national average was 7.0 points in 2013 and in 2015 as well.

People between the ages of 16-34 are the most satisfied with their lives (the average is 7.4 points), and satisfaction decreases with age; it falls below the average between the ages of 55 and 65 (6.9), and those who are 75 years old or older are the most dissatisfied (the average is 6.2 points).

based on an article of vg.hu
translated by Adrienn Sain

Copy editor: bm

Source: vg.hu