DEVELOPMENT
The pdf-version - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
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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