Satisfaction with current life and satisfaction with different areas of life is a measurement of well-being and subjective quality of life. Although the gross domestic product (GDP) is also used as an indicator for quality of life, it is only concerned with economic aspects and does not take into account changes in society, the economy and the environment. In association with other indicators, life satisfaction can complement GDP, thus enabling a better analysis of the population’s well-being.
Subjective evaluation of quality of life in Switzerland
Two in five people say they are very satisfied with their current life
We present the percentage of the population (aged 16 and over) that has a very high degree of satisfaction: a score of 9 or 10 on a scale of 0 (not satisfied at all) to 10 (completely satisfied), by different areas of satisfaction and sociodemographic characteristics.
The degree of satisfaction with life within the population living in Switzerland is high. In fact, in 2020 two in five people (40.4%) said that they were very satisfied with their current life. The population is most satisfied with interpersonal aspects such as living together, the atmosphere at work or personal relationships. In these areas over 57% of the population aged 16 and over saying that they are very satisfied. At the other end of the scale, the income from main job, the financial situation or the amount of free time show the lowest level of satisfaction.
The well-being of the population in European comparison
The following report examines satisfaction with current life, satisfaction with one's financial situation, satisfaction with personal relationships as well as job satisfaction.
Satisfaction was measured in the SILC survey across Europe (EU-28, EFTA: Switzerland, Norway and Iceland) on a scale of 0 ("not at all satisfied") to 10 ("completely satisfied"). The following categories applied to all countries: Low satisfaction level (0-5), average satisfaction level (6-8) and very high satisfaction level (9-10). The European comparison is based on SILC data from 2018.
Links to the results and publications at European level are listed further below under "Further information" in the paragraph "Links".
Satisfaction in different areas
Satisfaction with current life
Satisfaction with financial situation
Satisfaction with personal relationships
Job satisfaction
In 2018, Europe's population (EU-28) was most satisfied with personal relationships (8.0). The average score for general satisfaction with life was 7.3, followed by job satisfaction (7.2). Satisfaction with the household's financial situation was awarded the lowest score across Europe as a whole (6.6).
When comparing countries, only moderate differences were found with regard to average job satisfaction and satisfaction with the financial situation. However, the average satisfaction with the financial situation was in all European countries lower than the average job satisfaction.
In 2018, almost 84% of the European population said their satisfaction with their current life was average to very high. A fourth were very satisfied with their lives. Of all countries taking part, Ireland had the largest percentage of the population with a very high level of satisfaction with current life (43.2%). Serbia, in contrast, had the smallest share (7.5%) of the population with a very high level of satisfaction. Finland was the country where the lowest percentage of the population indicated being dissatisfied (5.2%).
A comparison with Switzerland's neighbouring countries shows that the Swiss population (38.0%) and that of Austria (39.7%) were most likely to give a high score for satisfaction with their current life (Germany: 28.3%, France: 18.3%, Italy: 18.0%). At the other end of the scale, with 17.2%, Germany shows the largest percentage of the population that is dissatisfied (Italy 15.7%, France: 15.0%, Austria: 9.6%, Switzerland: 8.9%).
Similar average values can result from widely varying distributions of low, average and high satisfaction. The populations of Slovakia and Italy, for example, showed the same average satisfaction level with current life (7.1) although people in Slovakia were much more likely to be very satisfied with their current life than people in Italy (18.0% and 27.5%, respectively). At the same time, people in Slovakia were more likely to be dissatisfied with their lives as people in Italy (15.7% and 25.3%, respectively).
When comparing countries, a positive relationship can be seen between per capital gross domestic product (GDP) (in purchasing power standard), which reflects the standard of living of each population, and the satisfaction level with current life. Countries with low per capita GDP tend to display lower average satisfaction levels with life. In countries with higher per capita GDP, such as Switzerland and Scandinavian countries, life satisfaction tends to be higher.
The satisfaction with current life is also correlated with other factors than per capita GDP. Trust and confidence in institutions (average score of trust in politics, police and justice) are also related to current life satisfaction (the following graph presents data for 2013 because it wasn’t collected in 2018 on European level).
Trust in other people is positively correlated with current life satisfaction. People in countries with the most confidence in their institutions also tended to have more trust in other people (the following graph presents data for 2013 because it wasn’t collected in 2018 on European level).
In addition to per capita GDP or trust, sociodemographic factors at individual level are related to satisfaction with current life. Further information and graphics on the following explanations can be found on the website of the European Union's Statistics Office Eurostat.
According to the European average (EU-28), the different age groups exhibit noticeable differences with regard to their satisfaction with current life. In most European countries, young persons aged 16 to 24 were the most satisfied with their current life in 2018. The exceptions here are the northern European countries (Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom) and Switzerland, where people aged 65 to 74 were the most satisfied with their current life. Subjective health is also related to this. The lower the level of self-rated health, the lower was satisfaction with one's current life. Furthermore, the composition of the household has an effect on life satisfaction. Across Europe, the lowest level of satisfaction can be observed among people living alone and single parent households. At the other end of the scale are households with dependent children (people under 18 and economically inactive persons aged 18 to 24 living with their father and/or mother).
At individual level, socioeconomic factors can influence the satisfaction with current life greatly. A positive relationship exists between income level, educational attainment and satisfaction with current life. There is a gentle gender difference. Men were slightly more satisfied with their current life than women.
Roughly 70% of the European population (EU-28) indicated moderate to very high satisfaction with the financial situation of their household in 2018, whereby almost one person in five (17.9%) was very satisfied. In European comparison, Denmark has the largest percentage of the population who were highly satisfied with their financial situation (41.3%). Serbia had the smallest percentage (3.7%). Its population was more than 11 times less likely to be very satisfied than that of Denmark.
A comparison with Switzerland's neighbours shows that in 2018, Austria's population (28.4%) was most likely to be very satisfied with its financial situation, followed by Switzerland (27.0%). Italy's population was less likely highly satisfied (10.8%), (France: 12.0%, Germany: 25.0%. At the other end of the scale, Germany showed the largest percentage of the population with low satisfaction with their financial situation (Germany: 27.9%, Italy: 27.0%, followed by France: 25.8%, Austria: 20.1% and Switzerland: 18.7%).
Household composition is also correlated with financial satisfaction. At European level, persons living in couple households without children were the most satisfied with their financial situation. Single parent households were the least satisfied. Persons in these households were most frequently at risk of poverty as well.
As with satisfaction with current life, a positive relationship exists between income level, educational attainment and financial satisfaction and a gentle gender difference. In most countries men are slightly more satisfied with their current life than women.
In 2018, 90% of the European population (EU-28) said that they were moderately to highly satisfied with their personal relationships. More than 40% said that they were very satisfied. Ireland was the country where the largest percentage of the population had a very high level of satisfaction with their personal relationships (59.6%). Finland and Switzerland had the smallest percentage of the population with low satisfaction with personal relationships (4.2% and 4.3% respectively).
A comparison with Switzerland's neighbours shows that in 2018, the population in Austria (59.5%) and Switzerland (56.7%) were more likely to have a very high level of satisfaction with their personal relationships than that in Germany (46.8%), France (37.6%) and Italy (25.6%). With 13.5%, Germany recorded the largest percentage of the population with a low level of satisfaction within these five countries (Switzerland: 4.3%).
The European average (EU-28) of the satisfaction with their personal relationships varies with age. Young people (16-24, 25-34) were the most satisfied with their personal relationships, except for most of the northern European countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom) and Switzerland, where people over 65 and persons over 75 were the most satisfied.
People who lived alone and single parent households were the least satisfied with their personal relationships than people who did not live alone.
At European level there is a weak but positive relationship between level of income, educational attainment and satisfaction with personal relationships. A slight gender difference was observed. In contrast to the satisfaction with current life and the financial situation women were more satisfied with their personal relationships than are men in most countries.
In 2018, more than 80% of Europe's population (EU-28) said that they were moderately to highly satisfied with their job. One person in four (24.9%) said that they were very satisfied with their job. Norway had the largest percentage of very satisfied people (41.8%). The lowest percentage of very satisfied people was observed in Greece (12.1%).
A comparison with Switzerland's neighbouring countries shows that in 2018 the population of Austria was most likely to be satisfied with their job (40.2%) (Switzerland: 34.2%, Germany: 25.0%, France: 20.7%, Italy: 18.9%). The population of Germany was most likely to be dissatisfied. 21.9% of the population there said their satisfaction with their job was low.
When considering the composition of the household, it can be seen that couples without dependent children have the highest job satisfaction.
There is a positive relation in Europe between the level of income and job satisfaction. The correlation is also positive in terms of educational level, except of some northern European countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland etc.) and Switzerland, where people with compulsory education had the highest level of job satisfaction. The gender differences are small and only visible in few countries. According to them women are slightly less satisfied with their job than men.
List of countries and accession status in 2018
EU-28
AT=Austria, BE=Belgium, BG=Bulgaria, CY=Cyprus, CZ=Czechia, DE=Germany, DK=Denmark, EE=Estonia, EL=Greece, ES=Spain, FI=Finland, FR=France, HR=Croatia, HU=Hungary, IE=Ireland, IT=Italy, LT=Lithuania, LU=Luxembourg, LV=Latvia, MT=Malta, NL=Netherlands, PL=Poland, PT=Portugal, RO=Romania, SE=Sweden, SI=Slovenia, SK=Slovakia, UK=United Kingdom.
Other countries
CH=Switzerland, NO=Norway, RS=Serbia.
Further information
Statistical sources and concepts
Contact
Federal Statistical Office Section Income, Consumption and Living ConditionsEspace de l'Europe 10
CH-2010 Neuchâtel
Switzerland
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- +41 58 463 68 04