Despite a recent GfK market research report claiming the Portuguese are happier now than they have ever been, this year’s Better Life Index, listing countries of the developed world on a happiness scale, has placed Portugal in 35th position – only coming ahead of Hungary.
The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranks the countries on the basis of five key factors: income, education, health, stability and life satisfaction.
On a scale of one to 10, Portugal registered a level of happiness of 5.0 – below the 6.6 average.
Data shows that men put their happiness level at 4.9, while women ranked it at 5.1. Also, 71% of those queried said they experienced more positive moments during a day than negative. Still, the average is below the rest of the countries (80%).
“Of the 10 countries with the highest levels of reported life satisfaction, eight had among the 10 highest employment rate — that is, the percentage of the population that is employed,” the report said.
Countries going through the same difficulties as Portugal, like Greece and Italy, had the lowest reported levels of life satisfaction and exhibited unemployment rates in excess of 11% in 2012.
“For life satisfaction, it is pretty clear that unemployment drives the relationship. Not having a job when you’re willing and able to work affects life satisfaction more than anything else,” said Conal Smith, section head within the statistics directorate at the OECD.
The OECD report further suggests that housing, community, the environment, civic engagement and safety also account for the happiness of the citizens of a nation. At the polar opposite of the list is Switzerland, which registered the highest happiness level.
Surprisingly, the United States and the UK failed to place among the 10 happiest countries altogether.
Instead, Switzerland was followed by Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Finland and Mexico.
