Life satisfaction represents people’s subjective evaluation of their satisfaction with life as a whole. Life satisfaction is associated with good family relationships, health, living conditions and wealth as well as confidence in governance in the broader society.
People in OECD countries are more satisfied with their life than those in the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 7.1). On a scale of 1 to 10, life satisfaction scores are about 1 point higher on average across the OECD than across the Asia/Pacific region. Australians and New Zealanders report the highest life satisfaction of the countries observed, averaging a score of 7 out of 10; while residents in Cambodia, Armenia and India report the lowest life-satisfaction scores in 2015/17.
On average across the Asia/Pacific region and the OECD, life satisfaction has not changed markedly since the last decade (Figure 7.1, right scale). Trends also differ across countries, for example, life satisfaction is low in India and Cambodia, but while it improved in Cambodia it declined further in India. Life satisfaction increased in about two third of the countries since 2006/08, and the increase appeared most pronounced in Mongolia, Tajikistan and the Philippines.
Life satisfaction scores are broadly similar for men and women (Figure 7.2). Women in India and Armenia report the lowest levels of life satisfaction, while women in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore report the highest levels, being also slightly happier than men.
People in wealthy countries tend to be more satisfied with life than those in less wealthy countries (Figure 7.3). Thais appear to have a higher life satisfaction than what might have been expected on the basis of their average income, but, results for Australia, New Zealand on the one hand, and India and Cambodia on the other, illustrate the relationship between average life satisfaction and prosperity.
or 3%, with a sample size of 4 000, this is 1.5%. To minimise the effect of annual fluctuations in responses related to small sample sizes, results are averaged over a three-year period, or two-year period in case of missing data. If only one observation in a three-year period is available this finding is not reported.
