Press Release 10/03/2017
Overall satisfaction with life of the Basque Country population was 7.5 on a scale of zero to ten
The highest score (7.8) obtained was for young people aged between 16 and 24, though this figure worsens with age. That said, the figure is on the up for those aged 65 and over
The population of the Basque Country scored "high" (7.5) for satisfaction with life in general, the same as the previous year. This is according to Eustat data from the Survey on Personal Well-Being, an operation that provides information on the perception of well-being among the population of the Basque Country, and it does so through a series of questions that primarily measure aspects concerning quality of life aside from the material dimension.
The lowest score in the indicator for overall satisfaction with life (6.8) was recorded amongst unemployed people, with a slight increase from the figure of 6.7 for the previous year.
On the other hand, the highest score (7.8) obtained was for young people aged between 16 and 24, though this figure worsens with age. That said, the figure is on the up for those aged 65 and over, for whom the current score is 7.5.
No differences appeared between men and women, whereas at a provincial level, the best results were obtained from residents in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa (7.6), ahead of the residents of Álava (7.3).
Regarding place of birth, the lowest scores, below average, were given by people born in Álava, provinces outside of the Basque Country or abroad (7.4).
The Value of Life indicator received the highest score, 7.8
The value of one's own life, or the view that life is worthwhile, reached an average score of 7.8, two tenths less than in the previous year, with 65.1% rating it as “high” (lower than the figure of 70.7% for 2015) compared to 1.3% of the population who considered it to be “low”.
There were no differences between men and women in this instance either. Provincially speaking, however, Álava residents were the only people with a score (7.4) below the average, with Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa both scoring 7.9.
In terms of relation to activity, employed people and inactive people valued their life more (7.9 and 7.8, respectively), and unemployed people valued their life less (7.4).
State of mind amongst young people was better
The State of mind indicator, the average of which for the total population was 6.9, is the only one that improved compared to 2015. The value was higher among people aged between 16 and 24 (7.3) and lower among unemployed people (6.6).
At provincial level, people resident in Bizkaia (7.1) had the highest score, as opposed to residents of Álava and Gipuzkoa, whose average reached 6.7. In terms of place of birth, once again it was people born in Bizkaia (7.1) who had a better state of mind, and it was once again those born in Álava and Gipuzkoa (6.8) who had the lowest score.
The indicator obtained a slightly higher score amongst men (7.0) than women (6.9).
Elderly people were the ones most satisfied with their leisure time
With an average of 6.7 in Satisfaction with leisure time, people aged 65 and over gave the highest score (7.6) whilst those aged 35 to 49 gave the lowest (6). Inactive people also gave a good score (7.3) compared with 6 for those in work.
The score for this indicator was once again slightly higher among men (6.7) than women (6.6), whereas the resident of Gipuzkoa were slightly more satisfied (6.8) than those who live in Álava or Bizkaia (6.6).
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62
More press releases about the survey on personal well-being–EBP