Life satisfaction in Europe

Not only Portugal has a poor economical and social (e.g., education) development but it's also one of the gloomiest countries in Europe. Take a look at the results below.

Life Satisfaction in Europe

rank Country 0-10

1 Denmark 8.4 ----- BEST
2 Switzerland 8.2
3 Iceland 8.0
4 Finland 7.8
5 Sweden 7.8
6 Luxembourg 7.7
7 Ireland 7.7
8 Netherlands 7.5
9 Austria 7.5
10 Norway 7.5
11 Malta 7.4
12 Belgium 7.4
13 Cyprus 7.2
14 Spain 7.2
15 United Kingdom 7.2
16 Germany 7.0
17 Slovenia 6.9
18 Italy 6.8
19 France 6.6
20 Czech Republic 6.4
21 Greece 6.3
22 Poland 6.1
23 Portugal 5.7
24 Estonia 5.6
25 Hungary 5.5
26 Slovakia 5.5
27 Romania 5.4
28 Latvia 5.1
29 Lithuania 5.1
30 Bulgaria 4.1 ----- WORST


European happy planet Index

rank Country hpI

1 Iceland 72.3 ----- BEST
2 Sweden 63.3
3 Norway 56.0
4 Switzerland 51.6
5 Cyprus 51.3
6 Denmark 49.8
7 Malta 49.4
8 Slovenia 48.5
9 Netherlands 48.4
10 Austria 47.9
11 Latvia 47.5
12 Spain 47.4
13 Ireland 46.5
14 Italy 46.4
15 Germany 46.3
16 Finland 45.7
17 Belgium 45.5
18 France 44.8
19 Poland 43.9
20 Romania 43.7
21 United Kingdom 42.3
22 Portugal 41.8
23 Slovakia 40.8
24 Czech Republic 39.7
25 Lithuania 39.0
26 Hungary 38.3
27 Greece 38.3
28 Bulgaria 29.7
29 Luxembourg 29.6
30 Estonia 29.3 ----- WORST


But not so bad in terms of Life Expectancy

rank Country years

1 Switzerland 80.5
2 Sweden 80.1
3 Iceland 79.6
4 Italy 79.6
5 Spain 79.6
6 Norway 79.5
7 France 79.3
8 Cyprus 79.1
9 Greece 78.8
10 Belgium 78.7
11 Austria 78.7
12 Malta 78.7
13 Netherlands 78.5
14 Germany 78.5
15 United Kingdom 78.4
16 Finland 78.4
17 Ireland 78.2
18 Luxembourg 77.9
19 Denmark 77.4
20 Portugal 77.3
21 Slovenia 76.4
22 Czech Republic 75.3
23 Poland 74.6
24 Slovakia 73.8
25 Hungary 72.4
26 Bulgaria 72.1
27 Lithuania 71.9
28 Romania 71.5
29 Estonia 71.3
30 Latvia 70.7

Of course situations can change tremendously within countries (e.g., austerity measures in some European countries) but I think that the structural dissatisfaction among Portuguese citizens is deeply rooted in a collective frustration. There are many causes but let's leave that for some other time. :)

Via Happy Planet Index