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Introduction and Summary of Results

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The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) is an annual household survey. Since 2004, this survey has been the official source of household income and poverty statistics in Ireland.

Modules are carried out as part of SILC each year to complement the variables permanently collected in the survey.  The theme of the 2013 SILC module was ‘well-being’ and this module was repeated in the 2018 SILC.  This publication focuses on personal well-being indicators and compares 2018 results with 2013.

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction levels with various aspects of their lives (such as their overall life satisfaction and satisfaction with the financial situation of their households) on a scale from 0 (‘Not at all satisfied’) to 10 (‘Completely satisfied’).  The mean score for each satisfaction level indicator was calculated by adding individual scores and dividing the total by the number of individuals.

Furthermore, respondents were asked about their ability to access material and non-material help from other people.  Access to material help refers to the ability to get or borrow money or items from other people.  Non-material help refers to having someone to discuss matters with or getting help with doing something.

Finally, respondents were asked how often, in the four-week period preceding their interview, they felt ‘happy’, ‘calm and peaceful’, ‘down in the dumps, ‘very nervous’, ‘downhearted' or depressed' and 'lonely’.  The responses were given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘none of the time’ to ‘all of the time’.

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  • In 2018, 44.4% of individuals aged 16 and over rated their overall life satisfaction at 9 or 10 out of 10, increasing from 30.8% in 2013.

Due to a processing error, the 2013 and 2018 values for the Low, Medium and High satisfaction indicators were incorrectly reported.  Figure 3.9, Table 2.1, and related text have been corrected as of 11.00am on 13/10/21.

  • The mean score for overall life satisfaction at the State level increased from 7.5 in 2013 to 8.1 in 2018. Amongst the EU-27 countries, Ireland’s mean score was joint highest with Finland. Bulgaria had the lowest score at 5.4.
  • In Ireland, individuals who were not at work due to permanent illness or disability and the unemployed had the lowest overall life satisfaction mean scores of 6.5 and 6.8 respectively, compared to 8.3 for those at work.
  • Satisfaction with the household’s financial situation rose from 5.5 in 2013 to 7.1 in 2018, which was the largest increase across all EU-27 countries over this period.  Amongst EU member states, Denmark, Finland and Sweden had the highest mean scores at 7.6 and Bulgaria had the lowest at 4.3.
  • With regards to tenure status in Ireland, the largest increase in satisfaction with the household’s financial situation was for individuals living in properties owned with a mortgage, with an increase in mean score from 5.1 in 2013 to 7.3 in 2018.
  • In 2018, just over eight in ten (80.4%) individuals reported being happy (in the four-week period preceding their interview) either all or most of the time, which was the highest rate in the EU-27 countries.  Other countries in the EU-27 where more than 75% of individuals reported being happy all or most of the time were Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland.  Just over three out of every ten (30.7%) individuals in Latvia reported being happy all or most of the time.
  • Over two in three (67.8%) individuals in Ireland defined as being at risk of poverty reported being happy either all or most of the time, compared to 82.4% of those not at risk of poverty.
  • In 2018, 16.6% of individuals reported feeling lonely at least some of the time.  Almost four in ten (39.7%) individuals not at work due to a permanent illness or disability reported feeling lonely at least some of the time, compared to one in ten (10.3%) of those at work.
  • Just over one in eight (13.2%) individuals reported feeling downhearted or depressed at least some of the time in 2018, compared to one in five (20.8%) in 2013.  In 2018, this rate ranged from 5.1% for individuals in the top income quintile (top 20% of equivalised disposable income), to 23.5% for those in the bottom income quintile.
  • In 2018, 86.4% of individuals felt that they could obtain material help (e.g. borrow money) from others if they needed to.  The percentage of individuals that felt that they could obtain non-material help (e.g. somebody to talk to, help with doing something) was higher at 94.8%.

Go to next chapter >>> Well-being indicators at State level