Cypriots may complain that nothing goes right, but the numbers show a different picture from what we might have formed as a general assessment. Cypriots are satisfied with their lives with a score of 7.4, above the European average of 7.2, according to a Eurostat survey.
Cypriots rank 12th in the European Union with a life satisfaction score of 7.4 on a scale from 0 to 10, whilst Turkey holds the worst position in Europe with just 5.6. Greeks appear to be the second least satisfied with their lives in the entire European Union and third in Europe, the survey shows.
As a general conclusion, EU citizens were generally satisfied with their lives in 2024. EU residents expressed an average life satisfaction score of 7.2 out of 10.
Finland had the highest score with 7.8, followed by Romania and Slovenia, both with 7.7, whilst Bulgaria had the lowest score with 6.2, Greece with 6.7 and Latvia with 6.9.
All EU countries had average life satisfaction scores above 6, indicating that respondents were more satisfied than dissatisfied.
Young Cypriots most satisfied
At the EU level, people aged 16-29 reported higher life satisfaction compared to people in other age groups, although this pattern differed by country. In 11 EU countries (Slovakia, Poland, France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark), the middle-aged group (25-64) had the lowest average life satisfaction.
In Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, people over 65 reported the highest life satisfaction. In Cyprus, people aged 16-29 reported higher life satisfaction with a score of 7.8, the middle-aged group (25-64) had an average score of 6.9, whilst people aged over 65 had a score of 6.6, which was the lowest.
Education gap
Among people with less than secondary education, average satisfaction ranged from 5.6 in Bulgaria to 7.7 in Finland. Those with secondary education were least satisfied in Bulgaria (6.2) and most satisfied in Romania (7.8). People with tertiary education rated their life satisfaction with scores ranging from 6.8 in Bulgaria to 8.4 in Romania.
The largest satisfaction gap between people with less than secondary education and people with tertiary education was observed in Slovakia (difference of 1.4 points) and in Greece, Croatia and Hungary (all 1.3 points).
In Cyprus, those with secondary education were quite satisfied with a score of 7.3, and those with tertiary education scored 7.8.
People with higher incomes and those living in households with children rate their life satisfaction higher. Households with dependent children consistently reported the highest levels of life satisfaction among different household types.
At the EU level in 2024, this was 7.4, compared to 7.3 for two adults living together, 7.2 for households with three or more adults without dependent children and 6.8 for single-person households.
The fact that households with dependent children were more satisfied than those without is rather specific to the European context, as research on other continents has often found the opposite.
At the EU average level, there was no difference in life satisfaction between people in urban and rural areas, although there are differences at the country level: in some EU countries, urban residents are more satisfied, whilst in others, rural residents report higher satisfaction.