Well-being
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (life satisfaction) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity (feeling things are worthwhile) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity (happiness) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity (anxiety) section
- 7. Navigate toData sources section
- 8. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
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in 2023, when people in the UK were asked how satisfied they are with their life, the average score was 7.45 out of 10 (where 10 is ‘completely satisfied’)
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the average score for feeling worthwhile was 7.73 out of 10 (where 10 is 'completely worthwhile')
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the average score for happiness was 7.39 out of 10 (where 10 is 'completely happy')
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the average anxiety score was 3.23 out of 10 (where 10 is 'completely anxious’)
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average life satisfaction scores for the mixed (6.94), black (7.14) and other (7.22) ethnic groups were lower than the national average
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the average score for feeling worthwhile was lower for the mixed ethnic group (7.16) than the national average
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the average happiness score for the mixed ethnic group (7.11) was lower than the national average
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the average anxiety score for the mixed ethnic group (3.69) was higher than the national average
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data also measures how people felt generally in relation to:
- life satisfaction
- feeling the things they do in life are worthwhile
The data measures how people felt yesterday in relation to:
- happiness
- anxiety
People responded on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is ‘not at all’, and 10 is ‘completely’.
Only meaningful differences have been commented on.
Average scores are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Not included in the data
Data is not shown if it is based on fewer than 50 respondents. This is to protect people’s confidentiality and because the numbers involved are too small to make reliable generalisations.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the 5 ethnic groups used across the UK in the 2011 Censuses.
The data file also provides estimates for all 18 ethnic groups in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland use different classifications which are not comparable at lower levels
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
The figures on this page are based on survey data. Find out more about:
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interpreting survey data, including how reliability is affected by the number of people surveyed
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how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied
In the data file
See Download the data for:
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the percentage of people in each threshold for life satisfaction, how worthwhile they felt the things they did in life were, happiness and anxiety
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the average scores for the well-being measures of life satisfaction, how worthwhile they felt the things they did in life were, happiness and anxiety
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confidence intervals for each ethnic group – find out more about how we use confidence intervals to determine how reliable estimates are
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estimates for all 18 ethnic groups in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland use different classifications which are not comparable at lower levels
3. By ethnicity (life satisfaction)
| Ethnicity | Score | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 7.45 | 90,130 |
| Asian | 7.46 | 3,310 |
| Black | 7.14 | 1,560 |
| Mixed | 6.94 | 680 |
| White | 7.47 | 83,710 |
| Other | 7.22 | 840 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (life satisfaction)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (life satisfaction)’ (CSV)
4. By ethnicity (feeling things are worthwhile)
| Ethnicity | Score | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 7.73 | 89,910 |
| Asian | 7.69 | 3,290 |
| Black | 7.70 | 1,550 |
| Mixed | 7.16 | 670 |
| White | 7.75 | 83,520 |
| Other | 7.58 | 830 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (feeling things are worthwhile)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (feeling things are worthwhile)’ (CSV)
5. By ethnicity (happiness)
| Ethnicity | Score | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 7.39 | 90,070 |
| Asian | 7.49 | 3,310 |
| Black | 7.37 | 1,560 |
| Mixed | 7.11 | 680 |
| White | 7.39 | 83,650 |
| Other | 7.25 | 840 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (happiness)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (happiness)’ (CSV)
6. By ethnicity (anxiety)
| Ethnicity | Score | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 3.23 | 90,050 |
| Asian | 3.07 | 3,300 |
| Black | 3.12 | 1,550 |
| Mixed | 3.69 | 670 |
| White | 3.24 | 83,640 |
| Other | 3.51 | 840 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (anxiety)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (anxiety)’ (CSV)
7. Data sources
Source
Personal well-being in the UK: April 2022 to March 2023
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Office for National Statistics collects well-being data to:
- monitor national well-being
- support government policy making
- give individuals data they can use to make informed decisions
- make comparisons between the UK and other countries
8. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, value, value_type, lower_95_c_i, upper_95_c_i, sample_size, value_note
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time time_type, geography, geography_type, value, value_type, threshold, lower_95_c_i, upper_95_c_i, sample_size, value_note