Life satisfaction statistics show how people assess their lives on a numerical scale, usually from 0 to 10. In 2024, the European Union average was 7.2 among people aged 16 or over, while average life satisfaction across OECD countries was 7.4 in 2023. These figures describe self-reported evaluations, not a complete measure of mental health, income, or momentary mood.
Contents
- EU life satisfaction in 2024
- Changes across the EU from 2018 to 2024
- Education, finances, and relationships
- OECD levels and recent trends
- UK low life satisfaction statistics
- Global life evaluations
EU life satisfaction in 2024
Eurostat reported an EU average life satisfaction rating of 7.2 out of 10 in 2024 for people aged 16 or over. The measure is a self-assessed overall life-satisfaction rating on a 0–10 scale. Country estimates in the 2024 source include a note that some estimates have low reliability, so small differences should be read cautiously. Eurostat, “Quality of life indicators - overall experience of life”
Finland had the highest listed rating at 7.8. Romania and Slovenia followed at 7.7. Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and Austria each recorded 7.6. Ireland and Malta each recorded 7.5.
Sweden, Czechia, and Cyprus each recorded 7.4. Portugal and Slovakia each recorded 7.3. Spain, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Croatia, and Italy each recorded 7.2, matching the EU average. Hungary, Estonia, and France each recorded 7.1, while Germany recorded 7.0.
At the lower end of the listed EU estimates, Greece recorded 6.7 and Bulgaria recorded 6.2. The spread between Finland’s 7.8 and Bulgaria’s 6.2 illustrates why an EU-wide average can conceal substantial differences between national populations.
| Country or area | Average rating in 2024, out of 10 |
|---|---|
| Finland | 7.8 |
| Romania; Slovenia | 7.7 |
| Belgium; Netherlands; Denmark; Poland; Austria | 7.6 |
| Ireland; Malta | 7.5 |
| Sweden; Czechia; Cyprus | 7.4 |
| EU average | 7.2 |
| Germany | 7.0 |
| Greece | 6.7 |
| Bulgaria | 6.2 |
The ratings are not grades assigned by researchers. They are responses to a subjective evaluation question, and the wording, survey design, population covered, and timing matter when comparing them.
Changes across the EU from 2018 to 2024
The Eurostat comparison also gives selected changes over the 2018–2024 period. Croatia’s average rating rose from 6.3 in 2018 to 7.2 in 2024. Lithuania rose from 6.4 to 7.2, and Bulgaria rose from 5.4 to 6.2.
Not every country moved upward. Ireland’s average rating fell by 0.6 points between 2018 and 2024. Belgium recorded a 0.0-point change over the same period. These figures show why a single current ranking cannot explain the direction of change in every country.
The historical values should be understood as reported legacy observations from the cited Eurostat material. They are included to describe the published 2018–2024 comparison and are not presented as independently rechecked estimates. The 2024 country figures also retain the source’s reliability warning.
Education, finances, and relationships
Education is associated with different average life-satisfaction ratings in the EU. In 2022, people with low educational attainment reported an average of 6.7 out of 10. The average was 7.1 for people with medium educational attainment and 7.5 for people with high educational attainment. Eurostat, “Key figures on European living conditions – 2023 edition”
The pattern also appears in satisfaction with personal finances. In 2022, EU satisfaction with personal finances was 6.0 out of 10 for people with lower-secondary education and 7.1 for people with tertiary education. Those are averages for different education groups, not predictions of how any one person will feel.
Personal relationships were rated more positively in the supplied EU figures. People with lower-secondary education reported average satisfaction with personal relationships of 7.6 out of 10 in 2022. This measure is related to overall life satisfaction but is not interchangeable with it: someone can evaluate relationships positively while assessing finances or life overall differently.
These education-group statistics can help put national averages in context. They point to differences within populations, not only differences between countries. They also cover 2022, whereas the country comparison above covers 2024, so the periods should not be blended into one time series. Eurostat, “High overall life satisfaction in the EU”
OECD levels and recent trends
Across OECD countries, average life satisfaction was 7.4 out of 10 in 2023. The OECD also reported that average life satisfaction increased by 0.04 points per year between 2013 and 2018. OECD, “How’s Life? 2024”
The share of people giving a life-satisfaction score of 4 or below was 8% in 2013, about 6% in 2018, and 5% in 2022 across the OECD measure. The wording “4 or below” matters: this is a low-score share, not the percentage who described themselves as unhappy in an undefined everyday sense.
The more recent country pattern was mixed. Since 2018, life satisfaction remained stable in 12 OECD countries, deteriorated in 11, and improved in 6, using the latest available observations in the OECD report. Because the available periods can differ by country, “latest available” should not be read as one identical observation date for every OECD member.
Relationships received a higher average evaluation than overall life satisfaction in the supplied OECD figures. Average OECD satisfaction with personal relationships was 8.0 out of 10 in 2022, compared with the 7.4 average life-satisfaction level reported for 2023. These are different measures and years, so the comparison is descriptive rather than a calculation of change. The OECD measure and the World Happiness Report measure below are related but not identical.
UK low life satisfaction statistics
UK statistics from the Office for National Statistics focus here on the proportion reporting low life satisfaction, defined as a 0–4 response on the ONS 0–10 scale. In January–March 2024, 5.3% of UK adults aged 16 or over reported low life satisfaction. In January–March 2019, the comparable figure was 4.5%. Office for National Statistics, “Measuring progress, well-being and beyond GDP in the UK”
Age groups showed different results in January–March 2024. Low life satisfaction was reported by 8.7% of people aged 55 to 59 and 7.3% of people aged 60 to 64. Among people aged 35 to 39 and under, the reported figure was 4.6%. The source wording for this group is retained as reported.
Children were measured separately. In 2023, 4.8% of children aged 10 to 15 reported low life satisfaction. This is a different period and age population from the adult January–March 2024 estimate, so it should not be treated as a direct like-for-like comparison with the adult figure.
The UK results demonstrate another useful way to read life satisfaction statistics: instead of comparing only mean scores, researchers can examine the share of respondents in a low-score range. Both approaches are informative, but they answer different questions.
Global life evaluations
The 2022–2024 World Happiness Report lists three-year average life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll. Finland’s average life evaluation was 7.736 out of 10, followed by Denmark at 7.521 and Iceland at 7.515. Sweden recorded 7.345, and the Netherlands recorded 7.306. World Happiness Report 2025
| Country | Average life evaluation, 2022–2024 |
|---|---|
| Finland | 7.736 |
| Denmark | 7.521 |
| Iceland | 7.515 |
| Sweden | 7.345 |
| Netherlands | 7.306 |
These numbers use a three-year average, while the Eurostat country figures above refer to 2024 and the OECD headline figure refers to 2023. The World Happiness Report measure is therefore not a direct replacement for either source. It provides a broader global comparison using a related life-evaluation concept.
Taken together, the statistics show several dimensions of well-being: average overall evaluations, low-score shares, education-group differences, financial satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and multi-year global evaluations. Keeping the scale, population, geography, measurement period, and source definition visible is essential when interpreting any life satisfaction comparison.