Belgian happiness index says majority are content

The majority of Belgians are happy, according to a recent survey on personal well-being and living conditions from the Belgian statistics office Statbel - but not all residents are equally so.

Statbel’s findings indicate that 65.4% of Belgians felt happy in the second quarter of 2023 but that unemployed people and people on long-term disability are much worse off at 38.6% and 32.1% respectively.

People were also divided by socioeconomic factors, with 71.8% of workers feeling happy, compared to 58.6% of pensioners.

“It’s striking that people on higher incomes also tend to feel happier,” Statbel noted.

Age also seemed to be a determining factor, with 71.9% of people between the ages of 16 and 24 reporting life satisfaction compared to 57.4% of people aged 65 to 74.

Whether people were in relationships or caring for children was also a factor.

“While more than 70% of people in couples, with or without children, say they are always or most of the time happy, isolated people and members of single-parent families stand out clearly, with only 46.7% and 50.3% respectively saying they are happy as often,” Statbel reported.

In terms of regions, 70.7% of respondents in Flanders reported being happy with their situation “at least most of the time”, compared with 60.2% of Walloons and 51.3% of Brussels residents.

The figures are based on a sample of 5,000 Belgians aged between 16 and 74.