Thanks to family and friends, Chinese are the happiest people in the world, global satisfaction survey finds
- Ipsos says 91 per cent of Chinese report feeling happy overall, although less satisfied with their country’s political, social and economic situation
- In China, relationships are a main source of happiness but elsewhere people rank meaning and ‘feeling in control of my life’ as top drivers of satisfaction
Some 91 per cent of Chinese respondents reported feeling happy, making it the country with the highest proportion of happy citizens, according to the findings released on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands had 86 and 85 per cent of respondents reporting feeling happy, respectively.
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The report was based on a poll conducted from December 22 to January 6 across 32 countries, including a range of developing countries and major developed economies.
While Chinese respondents showed a very high level of satisfaction across different areas compared to those from other countries, they reported being less satisfied – although still more than people in most other countries – with their country’s economic and political circumstances.
When asked about the country’s social and political situation, 83 per cent of Chinese respondents said they were content, putting it first among nationalities surveyed, followed by India (72 per cent) and Singapore (71 per cent).
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It was part of a global trend revealed by the poll, with respondents from across the surveyed countries revealing they were least satisfied with their national economic, social and political conditions.
The report concluded that global happiness as measured by Ipsos had increased two years in a row.
“It is six points higher than a year ago and 10 points higher than it was in August 2020, months after Covid disrupted people’s lives worldwide,” said the report.
Although ranked as the country with the most proportion of happy people, it seems China is bucking the global trend when it comes to drivers of happiness.
The collective result from the poll reveals people across the globe ranked “feeling my life has meaning” and “feeling in control of my life” as the top two drivers of happiness.
But Chinese respondents had a different view and neither of these two factors made it to the top of their list.
When asked “how satisfied are you with various aspects of life,” 89 per cent of Chinese respondents said they felt satisfied with their relationship with their partner or spouse (if they have one), and 89 per cent were also satisfied with their friends.
The survey revealed that Chinese respondents ranked having friends as a top priority. In fact, it was the country with the highest level of satisfaction in this area.
And 71 per cent of Chinese respondents reported they had friends they could turn to when in need – significantly higher than in other Asian countries such as Japan, where only around half the respondents said yes.
The next highest category was “my children” (if they have any): 88 per cent of Chinese respondents see this as a top happiness driver.
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More broadly across all countries, satisfaction with respondents’ children (if they had any) had the lowest impact on happiness of the 30 categories measured, “reflecting that most parents are satisfied with their children even if they are unhappy about other things in their life”, according to Ipsos.
Despite muted sentiment towards the country’s economic condition and personal finance, China shows the highest correlation between consumer confidence and happiness levels. In other words, Chinese people may be happier when they are confident they can spend more.
The survey also found that globally although many people report being happy, pessimism about the future of relationships is prevalent and there remains a lack of support systems.
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Overall, the finding says the proportion of reported happiness declined in Western countries while China and other middle-income countries are reportedly feeling happier.
The recent poll conducted by Ipsos used an online survey platform and included a sample of at least 500 adults from each of the 32 countries surveyed, with a total of 22,508 participants.
The research also acknowledged that the samples from China and several other countries were more urban, educated, and affluent compared to the general population, which is something to keep in mind when interpreting the survey results.
