Well-being - Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2024

Similar percentage of men & women report low overall life satisfaction

In 2024, a similar percentage of male and female respondents reported low overall life satisfaction (10.5% and 10.6% respectively). Men were more likely to report high satisfaction levels with their lives (28.3% compared with 24.6% of women). See figure 3.1 and PxStat tables WBB11 & WBB63.

In 2021, when Covid-19 restrictions were in place for most of the SILC survey collection period, a similar percentage of male and female respondents reported low overall life satisfaction (13.1% and 14.9% respectively). By 2023, the percentage of males reporting low overall life satisfaction dropped by 5.1 percentage points to 8.0%, whereas the percentage of female respondents reporting low overall life satisfaction dropped by a lesser amount (2.6 percentage points) to 12.3%. 

The percentage of men reporting low overall life satisfaction increased from 8.0% in 2023 to 10.5% in 2024, whereas the percentage of women reporting low overall life satisfaction decreased from 12.3% in 2023 to 10.6% in 2024. 

There was an increase in the percentage of both male and female respondents reporting high overall life satisfaction in 2023 when compared with 2021, the increase for male respondents was much higher. There was over a ten-percentage point increase in the percentage of male respondents reporting high overall life satisfaction in 2023 when compared with the 2021 level (32.1% and 21.7% respectively). Female high overall life satisfaction rates increased by 4.9 percentage points over the same period, going from 21.0% in 2021 to 25.9% in 2023.

In 2024, the percentage of both male and female respondents reporting high life satisfaction decreased when compared with 2023 rates. The percentage of male respondents reporting high satisfaction decreased from 32.1% to 28.3%. The high overall life satisfaction rate for women decreased by a lesser amount, going from 25.9% in 2023 to 24.6% in 2024. See figure 3.2 and PxStat tables WBB11 & WBB63.

Women more likely to report low levels of satisfaction with the financial situation of the household

In 2024, female respondents to the SILC survey were more likely to report low overall satisfaction levels with the financial situation of their household and less likely to report high satisfaction levels. Almost three in ten (27.9%) female respondents reported low overall satisfaction with the financial satisfaction of their household compared with two in ten (21.2%) of male respondents.

The percentages of male and female respondents reporting high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households were 20.5% and 16.0% respectively in 2024. See figure 3.3 and PxStat table WBB11.

Analysis of the percentages of male and female respondents reporting high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households for survey years 2021 to 2024, shows that the percentage of female respondents reporting a high satisfaction level remained relatively unchanged between 2021 and 2023 at just over 17%, but dropped to 16.0% in 2024. The percentage of males reporting a high satisfaction level dropped from 21.3% in 2022 to 19.7% in 2023 and increased to 20.5% in 2024. See figure 3.4 and PxStat table WBB11.

Women more likely to feel lonely at least some of the time

As part of the annual SILC, respondents are asked how often, in the four-week period preceding their interview, they felt ‘downhearted or depressed’ and ‘lonely’. The responses to these emotional well-being questions are given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘None of the time’ to ‘All of the time’.

In 2024, female respondents were more likely to report loneliness with 17.1% reporting feeling lonely at least some of the time in the four-week period preceding their interview, compared with 11.7% of men. When it comes to not having felt lonely in the four-week period, 70.9% of male and 63.4% of female respondents reported they did not feel lonely. See figure 3.5 and PxStat table WBB21.

The percentage of male respondents reporting that they felt lonely at least some of the time increased from 10.2% in 2023 to 11.7% in 2024, whereas the rate for female respondents dropped slightly from 18.0% in 2023 to 17.1% in 2024. The loneliness rates for both male and female respondents were lower in 2024 when compared with 2021 when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. In 2021, 28.0% of females reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the four-week period preceding their interview. This was much higher than the comparable rate for male respondents at 16.9%. See figure 3.6 and PxStat table WBB21.

Almost one in five women feel downhearted or depressed at least some of the time

Similar results are seen with the ‘downhearted or depressed’ emotional well-being indicator, in that female respondents were more likely to report having felt downhearted or depressed in the four-week period prior to interview. In 2024, the percentage of male respondents who said ‘None of the time’ when asked how often they felt downhearted or depressed in the four-week period prior to interview was over 6 percentage points higher than the rate for females (67.8% and 61.4% respectively). See figure 3.7 and PxStat table WBB21.

In 2024, one in five (18.7%) female respondents felt downhearted or depressed at least sometimes in the four-week period prior to interview, up from 17.4% in 2023. In 2021, one in four (26.3%) female respondents felt downhearted or depressed at least sometimes.

In 2024, 12.5% of male respondents felt downhearted or depressed, almost unchanged from the 2023 rate of 12.0%. The comparable rate in 2021 was 17.8%. See figure 3.8 and PxStat table WBB21.