Is Ireland One of the Happiest Places on Earth?
The latest Ipsos B&A Happiness Index reveals that nearly three-quarters (74%) of people in Ireland consider themselves generally happy. This puts us among the top 10 happiest countries globally and second in Europe, just behind the Netherlands.
What contributes to this high level of happiness? Interestingly, the older generation reports higher levels of happiness than their younger counterparts: 80% of Baby Boomers consider themselves happy, compared to 70% of Generation Z. The survey also found that men, those with higher incomes, and married individuals tend to report higher levels of happiness.
What unites us in happiness? When asked about the reasons for their happiness, strong family and friend connections, along with feeling loved, emerged as primary factors. Very few in Ireland cite these areas as sources of unhappiness.
What divides us? While relationships contribute significantly to happiness, financial well-being and mental health present a more complex picture. The survey revealed a near-even split, with similar percentages of respondents reporting both happiness and unhappiness related to these aspects of life.
Unsurprisingly, housing also emerges as a mixed bag. While 19% of all respondents in Ireland identified their living situation as a positive contributor to their happiness, 8% felt it negatively impacted their overall well-being.
Some key takeaways include:
- Over 60’s are the happiest. The perception is happiness is a U-shaped curve with people happy when they are young, less happy in middle age then happiest when they are older. Our data finds this to be the case for men, but among young women they do not seem to have higher rate of happiness in 20s with happiness staying at the same level towards their 60s.
- All countries say personal finances is the number one cause of unhappiness. While what makes people happy depends on age, income level and where you live. While social and political situation in my country is one of the leading causes of unhappiness in the G7.
- India and Netherlands are the happiest countries. However, for much of the world happiness is on the slide. Of the 20 countries featured in the first Ipsos Happiness report in 2011, 15 have seen the proportion who say they are happy fall. Türkiye has seen the biggest decline in happiness (-40pp), followed by South Korea (-21pp), Canada (-18pp) and the United States (-16pp).
Technical note:
Ipsos interviewed 23,765 people online between December 20, 2024 and January 3, 2025 in 30 countries. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness and data have been weighted to the known population profile of each country. The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.
For more information, please contact Kieran O’Leary: Kieran.OLeary@ipsos.com
