Public services play a key role in ensuring that people have opportunities in life and can maximise their potential. Differences in satisfaction levels between socio-demographic groups may indicate differences in levels of accessibility, timeliness or quality for people with different characteristics. These differences can aggravate or cause inequalities in society and reduce the take-up of services. They can be a helpful diagnostic tool to help governments identify routes to improving service provision and ensuring that nobody is left behind. In many OECD countries, ministries, departments and agencies monitor satisfaction with public services in different population groups to help evaluate the impact of reforms and identify areas for further action.
There are gender gaps in satisfaction with healthcare, with men on average across OECD countries 6.1 percentage points (p.p.) more satisfied than women (Figure 3.4). Canada recorded the largest gap between men (68%) and women (55%), a difference of 13 p.p., followed by Denmark, New Zealand (both 12 p.p.),the Netherlands and Portugal (both 11 p.p.). Norway is the only country where women (78%) have statistically significant higher satisfaction levels than men (75%).
Satisfaction with education is significantly dependent on education level. Across OECD countries, higher educated people have a higher average rate of satisfaction (62%) than lower educated people (54%) (Figure 3.5). More educated people have been more exposed to the education system and have usually gained greater benefit from participating in it than those with lower education. In Canada, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, the gap in satisfaction rates between the higher and lower educated population is wider than 20 p.p. In only 4 out of 21 countries are citizens with low education levels more satisfied than those with high education levels: Korea (21 p.p.), Ireland (11 p.p.), Colombia (5 p.p.) and Finland (2 p.p.).
Satisfaction with administrative services is generally lower in younger age groups and higher in older ones. On average, 56% of 18-29 year-olds reported being satisfied with the quality of administrative services, compared to 67% among people aged 50 and over (Figure 3.6). The older group were more satisfied with administrative services in every country that participated in the survey. Ireland has the largest gap between older and younger people (32 p.p.), followed by Japan (18 p.p.), and Korea and New Zealand (both 16 p.p.).
