Study finds that Brits are amongst the world's wealthiest and happiest people

Batsy

A study by the OECD has ranked Britain high for quality of life.


It's not just the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who have reason to smile. The OECD said most Britons were happy

The study, undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a club of the world's 34 richest countries, has attempted to rank all of its members on different scales for 11 key categories, such as health, crime, education, housing, governance.

The index reported that Britain "performs very well in overall wellbeing", ranking among the top countries for wealth, environment, good governance and community spirit.

If all the eleven measures are given an equal weighting Britain comes 13th out of 34, behind Australia, Canada and Sweden as the best places to live.

On the broadest and most subjective measure of life satisfaction — consumers being asked if they were happy — Britain ranked 15th out of 34. Denmark was happiest, followed by Canada, Norway and Switzerland.

The survey also found that the British are amongst the wealthiest people in the world, with only Luxembourgers, Americans, the Swiss and Belgians having a higher disposable household income.

Numbers of Britons saying they are satisfied with their lives have risen over the past decade to 68 per cent — compared with an OECD average of 59 per cent — with 79 per cent believing that their lives will be satisfying in five years' time.

Nearly all — 95 per cent of people — said they knew of someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91 per cent, with the the organisation describing Britain has having "a strong sense of community".

However, there were some areas in which the UK performed poorly...

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8533114/Britain-has-good-quality-of-life-study-finds.html

joolsveer

How did Ireland score?

Nodin

And your point, OP...........?

later12

Ireland's is here. Apparently we were/ are even happier. Like the UK, though, some of the information is slightly dated

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/25/47930053.pdf

Ireland performs very well in overall well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top ten countries in several topics in the Better Life Index.

Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In Ireland, the average household earned 24 312 USD in 2008, more than the OECD average of 22 284 USD.

In terms of employment, nearly 60% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ireland have a paid job, less than the OECD average of 65%. People in Ireland work 1549 hours a year, less than most in the OECD who work 1739 hours. 51% of mothers are employed after their children begin school, much lower than the average of 66%, suggesting that women encounter difficulties when balancing family and career.

Having a good education is an important requisite to finding a job. In Ireland, 69% of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school diploma, close to the OECD average of 73%. As to the quality of its educational system, the average student scored 496 out of 600 in reading ability according to the latest PISA student- assessment programme, close to the OECD average of 493.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Ireland is 80 years, slightly above the OECD average. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 13 micrograms per cubic meter, and is lower than in most OECD countries where it stands at 22.

Concerning the public sphere, there is a very strong sense of community and moderate levels of civic participation in Ireland. 97% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation in the political process, was 67% during recent elections; this figure is lower than the OECD average of 72%.

When asked, 73% of people in Ireland said they were satisfied with their life, above the OECD average of 59%.

losthorizon

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/

RMD

Sweet, a study which proves we live in a decent country. Might finally help to shut those cynical bastards up.

joolsveer

Ireland
Ireland performs very well in overall well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks
among the top ten countries in several topics in the Better Life Index.
Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher
living standards. In Ireland, the average household earned 24 312 USD in 2008, more
than the OECD average of 22 284 USD.
In terms of employment, nearly 60% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ireland have a paid job,
less than the OECD average of 65%. People in Ireland work 1549 hours a year, less than
most in the OECD who work 1739 hours. 51% of mothers are employed after their
children begin school, much lower than the average of 66%, suggesting that women
encounter difficulties when balancing family and career.
Having a good education is an important requisite to finding a job. In Ireland, 69% of
adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school diploma, close to the
OECD average of 73%. As to the quality of its educational system, the average student
scored 496 out of 600 in reading ability according to the latest PISA studentassessment
programme, close to the OECD average of 493.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Ireland is 80 years, slightly above the
OECD average. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small
enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 13 micrograms per cubic meter,
and is lower than in most OECD countries where it stands at 22.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a very strong sense of community and
moderate levels of civic participation in Ireland. 97% of people believe that they know
someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%.
Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation
in the political process, was 67% during recent elections; this figure is lower than the
OECD average of 72%.
When asked, 73% of people in Ireland said they were satisfied with their life, above
the OECD average of 59%.
These findings are based on data from 2008 or later.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/25/47930053.pdf

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom performs very well in overall well-being, as shown by the fact
that it ranks among the top countries in several topics in the Better Life Index.
Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher
living standards. In the United Kingdom, the average household earned 27 208 USD in
2008, more than the OECD average of 22 284 USD.
In terms of employment, nearly 70% of people aged 15 to 64 in the United Kingdom
have a paid job, above the OECD average of 65%. People in the United Kingdom work
1646 hours a year, less than most in the OECD who work 1739 hours. 67% of mothers
are employed after their children begin school, around the OECD average, suggesting
that women are able to successfully balance family and career.
Having a good education is an important requisite to finding a job. In the United
Kingdom, 70% of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school
diploma, close to the OECD average of 73%. As to the quality of its educational system,
the average student scored 494 out of 600 in reading ability according to the latest
PISA student-assessment programme, around the OECD average of 493.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in the United Kingdom is 79.7 years,
slightly above the OECD average. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant
particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 13 micrograms per
cubic meter, and is lower than in most OECD countries where it stands at 22.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and low levels of
civic participation in the United Kingdom. 95% of people believe that they know
someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%.
Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation
in the political process, was 61% during recent elections; this figure is lower than the
OECD average of 72%.
When asked, 68% of people in the United Kingdom said they were satisfied with their
life, above the OECD average of 59%.
These findings are based on data from 2008 or later.

LondonIrish90

RMD wrote: »

Sweet, a study which proves we live in a decent country. Might finally help to shut those cynical bastards up.

People are cynical because they think we can be better as a country. Nothing more to it than that.

I doubt people in Britain would be quite as happy and content now anyway, with the implementation of the budget cuts, as necessary as they are.

Yahew

Both these countries are , of course, amongst the best of the world. A lot of the world stinks.

Shea O'Meara

Batsy wrote: »

A study by the OECD has ranked Britain high for quality of life.

That's great and I'm happy for you and yours. What's the Irish political point you neglected to make?
Your posts seem to be the Best of British propaganda/PR is all.

Random Interjection

I did a survey on myself yesterday. The results found that I was in fact, the happiest person in the world. In the terms and conditions however it stated that the survey result was subject to change. I'm not sure if it effects the quality of the survey but it was carried out at around midnight. It had also started to slightly drizzle at that time. I hope this helps.

djpbarry

In terms of disposable income, there's very little difference between Ireland and Britain, but I would suggest that the figures for Britain are heavily skewed by London.