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Table 3.3.2<br />

The ranking based on the May 2012 survey, with additional<br />

data from 2010, 2008, 2006, and 2004. The proportion of<br />

people satisfied with life (proportion of respondents who<br />

are very satisfied or generally satisfied, %)<br />

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012<br />

Sweden 96 94 95 96 98<br />

Denmark 97 96 96 98 97<br />

Luxembourg 95 92 95 96 94<br />

Finland 94 94 94 95 94<br />

Netherlands 92 95 96 95 94<br />

Great Britain 90 87 87 92 92<br />

Belgium 85 85 84 85 91<br />

Germany 84 82 82 84 89<br />

Ireland 93 91 88 88 86<br />

France 82 85 78 83 85<br />

Austria 85 85 84 85 85<br />

Slovenia 90 87 89 85 85<br />

Malta 88 82 85 76 80<br />

Cyprus 90 85 90 82 80<br />

Czech Republic 77 81 82 78 79<br />

EU 27 81 81 77 78 77<br />

Poland 71 71 75 79 75<br />

Spain 86 88 85 77 72<br />

Turkey 71 70 63 65 71<br />

Estonia 70 69 76 73 69<br />

Croatia 70 69 69 69 67<br />

Slovakia 59 66 69 75 67<br />

Latvia 55 60 63 60 66<br />

Lithuania 54 60 60 50 62<br />

Italy 76 76 64 72 60<br />

Romania 48 43 53 36 48<br />

Hungary 50 55 47 50 42<br />

Bulgaria 32 37 40 38 40<br />

Portugal 59 55 52 44 34<br />

Greece 66 67 65 42 31<br />

Source: Standard Eurobarometer.<br />

Figure 3.3.1<br />

Life satisfaction and happiness in the EU countries.<br />

Happiness<br />

Index<br />

Bulgaria<br />

Hungary<br />

Greece<br />

Latvia<br />

Estonia<br />

Slovakia<br />

Czech Republic<br />

Lithuania<br />

Romania<br />

Portugal<br />

Italy<br />

Slovenia<br />

Poland<br />

EL-27<br />

Cyprus<br />

Germany<br />

France<br />

Malta<br />

Great Britain<br />

Belgium<br />

Ireland<br />

Spain<br />

Austria<br />

Netherlands<br />

Luxembourg<br />

Sweden<br />

Life Satisfaction<br />

5,0 5,5 6,0 6,5 7,0 7,5 8,0 8,5<br />

Finland<br />

Gallup’s “ladder of good life”. Estonia and the reference<br />

states are indicated in yellow. As expected, the citizens<br />

of the richer states position themselves on the higher<br />

steps of the ladder; but there are several states at the top<br />

of the ladder, where the income levels are significantly<br />

lower, for example, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. In<br />

the ranking of the world’s states, Estonia is down in the<br />

70s, and in the Gallup ranking, we find ourselves on the<br />

same step of the ladder with Cuba, Nicaragua and the<br />

Dominican Republic.<br />

The life satisfaction of the European Union Member<br />

States and the candidate states, and its changes, are illustrated<br />

by the Eurobarometer, which asks the following:<br />

„On the whole are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not<br />

very satisfied or not at all satisfied with the life you lead?“<br />

Table 3.3.2 shows the percentage of those who, in<br />

May of 2012, answered positively to the Eurobarometer’s<br />

question about life satisfaction, compared to previous<br />

Denmark<br />

Index<br />

Source: Eurofound, 2009<br />

5,0 5,5 6,0 6,5 7,0 7,5 8,0 8,5<br />

years. Both the ranking and the changes in the last ten<br />

years allude to a connection between life satisfaction and<br />

the wealth of the states, as well as to the changes taking<br />

place in those states. In the countries that continue to<br />

be faced by economic worries – Portugal, Greece and<br />

Italy – the difficulties of daily life are reflected in the<br />

reduction of the percentage of people who are satisfied<br />

with their lives. In five of the EU states, the majority of<br />

the people (i.e. over 50%) were dissatisfied with their<br />

lives. In the period from 2004 to 2012, the proportion<br />

of people satisfied with their lives in Estonia held steady,<br />

124<br />

Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013

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