They may have more money, greater health and life expectancy but Britons seemed no happier than before.
In the annual “Social Trends” report of the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Britain’s production increased in the last 30 years and ranked third among the G8 countries.
Living and health standards were higher. As a matter of fact, deaths from respiratory related illnesses and cancer are falling sharply as well as heart disease and strokes having a steady decline since 1970s.
Even though Britons experience all these, their satisfaction – reflected in their happiness – has not improved. “This would suggest that societal well-being has not improved, even though economic well-being has steadily improved,” ONS expert Paul Allin said. Data from surveys show that every year, since 1973, an average of 86 percent of Britons said they were “very” or “fairly satisfied” in their standard of living.
Allin said: “These figures were in keeping with the Easterlin Paradox, an economic phenomenon where life satisfaction stays level once a country’s wealth passes a certain point,”
