"The statistics body said that after a long period of stability through the mid-2010s, the proportion of people reporting low levels of life satisfaction rose sharply between 2020 and 2021 during the Covid pandemic. This reached a nine-year high in the first three months of 2021, when 6.4% of adults aged 16 and above said they felt very unsatisfied with life."
"The ONS said that people's sense of life satisfaction used to grow in line with GDP per person, but this diverged sharply during the pandemic and has failed to realign. GDP per person was 10,127 in the final three months of 2025, down 0.1% from 10,135 in the previous quarter, but up 0.6% from 10,071 a year earlier."
"Alongside less satisfaction with life, the proportion of adults reporting good or very good health has also fallen significantly, from 76% at the end of 2020 to 70.9% in the final quarter of 2025. The ONS said this indicated a sustained postpandemic decline in overall health."
UK life satisfaction has failed to recover to pre-pandemic levels despite improving economic conditions, according to Office for National Statistics data. Life dissatisfaction peaked at 6.4% in early 2021 and has since stabilized around 5%, remaining elevated compared to pre-pandemic periods. While those reporting very high life satisfaction increased from 25.5% to 26.7% year-on-year, the overall trend shows a persistent divergence between economic growth and wellbeing. Adults aged 45-64 report the highest dissatisfaction, while those aged 30-34 show the lowest. Additionally, self-reported health has declined significantly from 76% in late 2020 to 70.9% by late 2025, indicating sustained post-pandemic health deterioration unrelated to economic performance.
#life-satisfaction #post-pandemic-wellbeing #economic-growth-disconnect #public-health-decline #uk-statistics
Read at www.theguardian.com
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