Ipsos study issued its latest report “World Happiness 2022”, which measures the level of happiness among people and the sources that they consider to give them greater satisfaction.
The survey showed that 53% of Chileans declare themselves to be very happy/quite happy, below the world average of 67%.
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With these numbers, our country is in fourth position with the lowest percentage in this area, being surpassed by Hungary (51%), Argentina (48%) and Turkey (42%).
Meanwhile, 46% of Chileans consider themselves “not very happy” or not happy at all, which causes concern among experts.
This figure is equal to that of Colombia, but exceeds the world average of unhappiness by 13 points (36%).
raise the level of happiness
Despite these figures, the level of happiness experienced a rise in our country, since in 2020 only 35% of people considered themselves happy, while in the past it increased to 53%, returning to the level shown in 2019 (50% ).
“The whole world has been shaken by the health crisis caused by Covid, which has meant a sharp decline in happiness in many countries,” he said. Alexandra OjedaManager of Public Studies at Ipsos Chile.
“In the case of Chile, this decline was 15 points. But we are witnessing a recovery of the indicator with the recovery of the use of public space, face-to-face reunions with family and friends, and the return to daily activities,” he added.
“Although it was expected that the new normality would bring very important changes, people have returned to their activities, with changes in some aspects, by the way, but recovering them in their essence. All this is mainly due to mass vaccination campaigns,” he said.
Mental health
Worldwide, the study reveals that 90% of people base their level of happiness on physical health, 89% on mental health, 89% relate it to living conditions (water, food) and 88% % with social security.
In Chile, the key factor to measure people’s happiness is mental health, followed by physical health and then “feeling that life has meaning.”
Aspects like having children and being in a relationship are further behind, ranking as numbers 7 and 11 respectively, unlike the global trend.
Pandemic
The three elements that least build happiness for Chileans are: time on social networks, material possessions and the amount of money/time that people spend on charity or helping others.
“As a result of the health crisis, we feel in danger that we had not previously experienced and now we are observing the consequences of the pandemic. Therefore, both physical and mental health have been resignified by people, giving them greater value,” Ojeda said. .
“The results also indicate that this moment is rather individualistic than collective, prioritizing interest in one’s own well-being or that of the family over that of the community,” he concluded.
