New data released by the Office of National Statistics has revealed Britain’s happiest—and unhappiest—regions.
Every year, since 2011, the statistics watchdog asks tens of thousands of people in the UK to rank their happiness, life satisfaction, anxiety levels and sense of worth out of 10.
According to data released today, those living in the South West of England are most likely to be generally happy.
Residents living in the mainly rural area, consisting of Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire, scored an average of 7.6 on the happiness index.
And more than a third of residents reported very high levels of happiness, scoring between nine and 10.
Overall, the UK scored an average of 7.43 out of 10 for happiness, with Northern Ireland being home to the happiest people, who rated their happiness at 7.7.
Conversely, the North East, North West and West Midlands jointly claimed the bottom slot, with residents ranking their happiness score as 7.3 on average.
Average happiness scores are on the rise in the UK, after scores dropped to 7.39 in 2022/23—the lowest figure logged since the pandemic.
Interestingly, levels of happiness tend to increase as people get older, with 70 to 74-year olds obtaining the happiest scores.
In reponse to questions about life satisfaction, the South West of England logged one of the highest rates, along with Yorkshire and the Humber and the East of England, with residents ranking contentment with life as 7.6 out of 10.
At the other end of the scale came London and the West Midlands, where residents reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction.
The West Midlands is home to the highest number of residents who reported very low levels of life satisfaction, with nearly one in 10 residents ranking between zero and four.
The average UK anxiety levels meanwhile have remained the same between 2023 and 2024, hovering at around 3.2.
Apart from the year Covid hit, this remains the highest figure on record.
Residents in the East Midlands and London saw the highest levels of anxiety last year, from October to December, with over a quarter of East Midlands residents ranking their panic between six and 10.
Millennials aged between 30 and 34 expressed the highest levels of anxiety.
Whilst statisticians did not indicate what specifically could be behind this, the data covers a period in which Britain was facing a cost-of-living crisis, with millennials hit the hardest on an inflation-adjusted basis.
The ONS also highlights limitations of the survey, which only features residents living at private addresses.
It does not currently include most communal establishments—such as student halls of residence, hospitals, care homes and prisons.
Data collection methods have also changed since the pandemic, with residents being interviewed over the phone rather than face-to-face.
