People aged over 65 more satisfied with their lives - CSO

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that people were happier with their lives last year compared to 2021 amid Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

The CSO said that 28.9% of respondents to its Survey on Income and Living Conditions survey reported high levels of satisfaction with their overall life last year, up from 21.4% of people surveyed in 2021.

The CSO also said that the percentage of people reporting low overall life satisfaction decreased from 14% in 2021 to 10.2% in 2023.

Today's survey shows that 32.1% of male respondents and 25.9% of female respondents reported a high satisfaction level with their lives.

Female respondents were also more likely to report low overall life satisfaction - 12.3% compared with 8% of male respondents.

The survey reveals that 17.4% of female respondents felt downhearted or depressed at least sometimes in the four-week period before their interview with the CSO, down from 26.3% in 2021.

The comparable rate for male respondents was 12% in 2023, down from 17.8% in 2021.

Analysis of overall life satisfaction by age shows that in 2023, respondents aged 65 and older were more likely to report high satisfaction with their overall life.

The CSO said that 35.8% of this age group reported high overall life satisfaction compared with 26.7% of people aged 25 to 49 years.

Older respondents were also more likely to report high overall satisfaction with their financial situation, the amount of time they have available for enjoyable activities and with their personal relationships.