Turks happier than before, study claims

ISTANBUL

An official life satisfaction survey for 2021 shows the Turkish nation is slightly happier than in 2020, with the elderly, women and married individuals reporting higher rates of contentment with their lives than others.

Figures from the Life Satisfaction Survey 2021 released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) yesterday indicate that the number of happy people has increased by some 1 percent in a year.

The survey shows people at the age of 65 and above making up the majority of people declaring their happiness, with 56.2 percent, but this rate fell 1.5 percent compared to 2020.

The age group with the lowest happiness rate was the 18-24 age group or those who just reached adulthood.

Women appeared to be happier than men on average, as 54.6 percent of them expressed that they were happy in life, while only 43.9 percent of men said they were satisfied with their lives.

According to the survey, married people are happier, as their percentage is 13.9 percent higher than those who are single and happy at 40.1 percent.

In a society where men are still considered the main breadwinners and women are often tasked with household chores, especially in rural areas, married women were happier than men by 10 percent, according to the statistics.

As for the people who were happy with the level of education they received, those who did not graduate from any school had the highest rate, at 54.4 percent, while only 45.7 percent who only finished their primary or middle school education expressed contentment.

The rate of university graduates who declared themselves happy is around 47.6 percent.

The survey also delves into the sources of happiness and found that family was the main reason for people’s happiness.

An overwhelming 67.6 percent of survey participants said their family made them happy. The second greatest source of happiness for most of the respondents was their children, with 16.8 percent.

One’s health was also an indicator of life satisfaction, the survey revealed. Turkish people put good health at the top of the list of things that made them happy, with 69 percent.

It was followed by love with 14.3 percent, success with 8.9 percent and money with 5.1 percent.

Among public services people were most satisfied with, law enforcement came first for the majority of respondents at 73.8 percent.

It was followed by transportation with 69.8 percent, health with 68.1 percent, social security with 59.1 percent, education with 55.7 percent and judicial services with 54.8 percent.