Statistics show that women and those over 70 are among the happiest residents in England.
Recent health and wellbeing statistics provided by the Office for National Statistics show that women are happier, have more self-worth and are more satisfied with life than men in England.
These statistics show that the average satisfaction rates have increased from 2012 to 2017. The results were scored out of 10 with the average happiness level of females increasing from 7.33 to 7.54, and, for males, from 7.27 to 7.50.
Females have been consistently happier according to the survey, however the gap between male and female happiness has fluctuated and was closing until 2016-2017, when it widened to a gap of 0.4 per cent, after two consecutive years of a smaller divide of 0.2 per cent.
Although females are happier overall than males, the survey shows that males have had the biggest increase in happiness and satisfaction with life.
The group shown by the survey to be the least happy in England were ages between 50 and 54, with their happiness level being at its lowest in 2011 with an average of 7.04 out of a possible 10.
However, of the surveyed selection, people aged between 70 and 74 have continued to be the happiest and the most satisfied with life.
When asked why she thought this was, Sandy Elgy, a retiree aged 70, said: “It’s because we have good health care, so we don’t have to worry about things like that and most of us have family close by as well, which makes all the difference.”
One of the most consistently low happiness rates was for people between the age of 20 and 29. Although these figures have improved from 2011, they are still considerably lower than samples for most other age groups.
Their average only increased by 0.19 in total, which was considerably less than other age groups, showing that they are statistically the unhappiest age group in England, which is concerning in itself, but more so knowing that the vast majority of UK university students are in this age group.
Recent university graduate Rhys Cornell, 22, commented on the matter. He said: “We are put under the most pressure to succeed out of all the generations, being held up to an impossible standard to fix problems caused by previous generations that we will never be able to reach.”
So, although happiness rates are at their highest since 2011 in the UK, there is still a noticeable divide in age groups and gender, as men and under 35s are less satisfied with their life than others. Although people of varying ages and genders have their own opinions about why this is, the factors pertaining to their happiness are still unclear.
However, what is clear is that happiness in the UK is rated on average around 7.5 out of 10, which means despite the divide in age and gender, the population are generally quite satisfied with their lives.