Wales: People more satisfied with life, ONS survey shows

In Wales, people in Vale of Glamorgan had the highest score for happiness, while people in Rhondda Cynon Taf had the lowest

People are happier and more satisfied with life in Wales compared to the previous year, according to an annual wellbeing survey.

Ratings for life satisfaction and happiness went up in Wales in the year ending March 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey said.

The ONS survey also found anxiety ratings had fell.

On life satisfaction, the mean score out of 10 for Wales was 7.48 - up from 7.37 out of 10 the previous year.

When broken down by local area, the highest mean score for life satisfaction was in Denbighshire (7.71 out of 10) and Cardiff had the lowest (7.24), although the ONS said because of the small sample sizes councils should not be ranked against each other.

The score for happiness had risen from 7.31 to 7.43 out of 10 in the latest year in Wales.

It was highest in Powys (7.72) and the Vale of Glamorgan (7.71), but lowest in Rhondda Cynon Taf (7.06).

Wales also saw its anxiety rating drop from 3.41 out of 10 in the pandemic, to 3.17 out of 10 in 2021-22.

But anxiety rose in Ceredigion to 3.6 - the highest rating in Wales - and had been increasing for the past five years in the county, compared to 2.9 out of 10 in 2016-17.

There was also an increase in the mean score in people who said they were anxious in Cardiff.

The analysis was taken from the annual population survey.