On the eve of the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated on March 20, Eurostat published on Thursday a study showing that Bulgarians have the lowest life satisfaction in the EU.

Respondents from the 28 EU member states were asked to rank their life satisfaction on a scale from 0 (“not satisfied at all”) to 10 (“fully satisfied”).

In 2013 nearly 80 % of respondents aged 16 and over rated their overall life satisfaction at 6 and higher, with an average mean satisfaction of 7.1.

Life satisfaction varied considerably among member states with the citizens of the Nordic countries being the most satisfied with their lives.

Bulgarians were the least satisfied with an overall average of 4.8, followed by citizens of Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Portugal.

Inhabitants in Denmark, Finland and Sweden were the most satisfied with an average of 8, followed by the Netherlands and Austria.

Young people, aged between 16 and 24, had the highest life satisfaction with an average of 7.6, while those above 75 were the least satisfied.

Life satisfaction tends to decrease with age, the only exception being the age group 65-74, which is for more people the period immediately after retirement.

As regards the factors influencing life satisfaction, good health was identified as the most important, followed by the financial situation and social relations.

There is very narrow gender gap in life satisfaction, with men being slightly more satisfied with their life (7.1) than women (7) in 2013.

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