Northern Ireland people labelled happiest in the UK

By Ellen Branagh

February 29 2012 04:43 AM

It may come as a surprise to some, but people in Northern Ireland are the happiest in the UK, new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown.

The data is based on people's ‘subjective well-being’, how satisfied they are with their lives, and is part of the Measuring National Well-being programme, launched in November 2010.

People were asked four questions: how satisfied they are with their lives; to what extent they feel the things they do in their life are worthwhile; how happy they felt yesterday; and how anxious they felt yesterday.

Estimates were based on a 0 to 10 scale, with 0 ‘not at all’ and 10 ‘completely’.

People in Northern Ireland were, on average, the most satisfied, scoring 7.6 out of 10, compared with 7.5 for Scotland and 7.4 for both England and Wales.

Northern Ireland also had the highest scores for the ‘worthwhile’ — scoring 7.8 — and ‘happiness yesterday’ questions, with a score of 7.52, the ONS said.

People in London and the West Midlands were least satisfied with their lives.