Britain ranks 13th in the well-being accounts

The UK is ranked 13th, out of 22 European nations, when combining ratings for personal and social well-being, managing only 15th for social well-being and 13th for personal well-being alone.

The UK fares particularly poorly compared to other Western European nations where we fall third from the bottom on both personal and social well-being

Although people in the UK are relatively satisfied with their lives, they score poorly on measures of vitality and sense of meaning and engagement.

Denmark, Switzerland and Norway show the highest levels of overall well-being, while Central and Eastern European countries such as the Ukraine, Bulgaria and Hungary have the lowest.


The UK comes 20 out of 22 nations on levels of trust and belonging ahead of only Slovakia and Bulgaria.

For the 16-24 age group people in the UK report the lowest levels of trust and belonging anywhere in Europe, only Bulgarian and Estonian young people report similarly low levels of trust and belonging.

People over 75 score highly on this component, an indication perhaps of the legacy of the more recent development of a highly individualistic culture in the UK. (NWN: We think they mean immigration)

http://www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org/explore/indicators/zwbi