Married people are most likely to be satisfied with their lives, while those who are separated or divorced are the least satisfied, according to new figures for the UK.
More than a third (34.7%) of people who are married or in a civil partnership rated their life satisfaction as either nine or 10 out of 10, according to the Office for National Statistics’ measure of national wellbeing in the UK in 2016.
This compared with 28.9% of those who were widowed or who lived with their partner. People who were separated or divorced were the least satisfied, with only 19.5% saying they were “very” satisfied.
Single people were slightly more likely to be “very” satisfied with their lives, with 21.9% reporting this level of satisfaction.
Only 2.8% of married people had “low” life satisfaction compared with 10% of divorcees.
The figures also show that the proportion of people with someone to rely on fell between 2011 and 2014.
“There is a saying, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’, so having someone to turn to for company and support in times of need is essential for a person’s wellbeing,” the ONS report says.
Researchers found that 84.1% of people aged 16 and over in 2014 had a spouse or partner, relative or friend to rely on if they had a serious problem in 2014. This compared with 86.4% three years earlier.
Overall, the ONS found that “national wellbeing” had improved across a large number of measures, including unemployment and crime levels, life expectancy and household income. But satisfaction had fallen across other areas, including health, income and leisure time.
“In many parts of our society life in the UK is improving, but we don’t necessarily feel that they are,” the ONS director of wellbeing, Glenn Everett, said.
“While healthy life expectancy, household income and crime rates are improving, we have seen people reporting that they are less satisfied with some aspects of their life, such as our health, income and leisure time.”
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