Analysis of overall life satisfaction by age shows that in 2025, over one in three (36.5%) older respondents (aged 65 and older) reported high satisfaction with their overall life. This compares to just over one in five (22.1%) respondents aged 25 to 49 years who reported high satisfaction with their overall life.
Between 2024 and 2025, respondents aged 49 and under reported a decrease in high overall life satisfaction. Respondents aged 16 to 24 years had a decrease from 27.8% to 26.3% while respondents aged 25 to 49 years saw a decrease in high overall life satisfaction from 24.7% to 22.1%. In contrast, high overall life satisfaction increased for those aged 50 to 64 years between 2024 and 2025. For respondents aged 50 to 64 years, the percentage reporting high overall life satisfaction increased from 23.8% to 27.0% and from 32.3% to 36.5% for older persons (aged 65 and over). See figure 4.1 and table 4.1.
When it comes to overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households, older respondents had higher rates of high satisfaction when compared with other age groups in 2025. Almost three in ten (28.5%) respondents aged 65 and over reported a high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their household. This was ten percentage points higher than for respondents aged 50 to 64 years (18.5%) and over 15 percentage points for respondents aged 25 to 49 years (13.1%). The proportion of respondents aged 16 to 24 years that reported a high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their household was 16.5%. See figure 4.2 and table 4.2.
Results from the 2025 survey show that for all age groups except those aged 25 to 49 years, there has been a drop in the percentage of respondents reporting feeling lonely at least sometimes in the four-week period before their interview when compared with percentages in 2024.
In 2025, 17.2% of respondents aged 25 to 49 years reported feeling lonely at least sometimes compared to 14.6% in 2024. The largest drop in the loneliness rate between 2024 and 2025 was for the youngest age group (aged 16 to 24 years), where the rate fell by 3.3 percentage points from 15.7% in 2024 to 12.4% in 2025.
The loneliness rate for those aged 50 to 64 years remained almost unchanged from 2024 to 2025 (12.9% to 12.8% respectively). For older people (aged 65 and over), the loneliness rate decreased from 15.4% in 2024 to 14.6% in 2025. The responses to the emotional well-being questions are given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘None of the time’ to ‘All of the time’. The at least ‘Sometimes’ category combines three response options: ‘All of the time’, ‘Most of the time’ and ‘Some of the time’. See figure 4.3 and table 4.3.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sometimes - 16 -24 years | 11.8053079553389 | 10.0668278792736 | 12.1 |
| Most of the time - 16 - 24 years | 0.639188116744482 | 5.55001021533434 | 0.1 |
| Always - 16 - 24 years | . | 0.2 | |
| Sometimes - 25 - 49 years | 11.1776377303906 | 11.9366539056131 | 13.7 |
| Most of the time - 25 - 49 years | 2.60855829765573 | 1.96330022631588 | 2.6 |
| Always - 25 - 49 years | 0.488868142607433 | 0.70190106035469 | 0.9 |
| Sometimes - 50 -64 years | 12.2273555307378 | 10.4125661878228 | 10.2 |
| Most of the time - 50 - 64 years | 1.85360221969827 | 1.36387555011026 | 1.5 |
| Always - 50 - 64 years | 1.66844054199232 | 1.05216930231802 | 1.1 |
| Sometimes - 65 years and over | 9.47722376568304 | 12.2559718928539 | 12.5 |
| Most of the time - 65 years and over | 2.51005662263819 | 2.08534675308688 | 1.4 |
| Always - 65 years and over | 1.16138021151275 | 1.0424808135757 | 0.7 |
In 2025, the rate for feeling downhearted or depressed at least sometimes in the four-week period prior to interview was highest for respondents aged 25 to 49 years at 18.4%. For all other age groups, the percentage ranged from 13.0% for older people (aged 65 and over) to 14.3% for younger people (aged 16 to 24 years).
Between 2024 and 2025, the rates for feeling downhearted and depressed decreased for respondents in all age groups, apart from those aged 25 to 49 years, where the rate increased from 15.6% to 18.4%. Youngest respondents (aged 16 to 24 years) had the largest decrease in the rate for feeling downhearted and depressed at least sometimes, decreasing from 19.8% in 2024 to 14.3% in 2025. The responses to the emotional well-being questions are given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘None of the time’ to ‘All of the time’. The at least ‘Sometimes’ category combines three response options: ‘All of the time’, ‘Most of the time’ and ‘Some of the time’. See figure 4.4 and table 4.4.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sometimes - 16 -24 years | 11 | 15.2 | 13.5 |
| Most of the time - 16 - 24 years | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| Always - 16 - 24 years | 0 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| Sometimes - 25 - 49 years | 11.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 |
| Most of the time- 25 - 49 years | 3.1 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Always - 25 - 49 years | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Sometimes - 50 -64 years | 13 | 11.3 | 10.6 |
| Most of the time - 50 - 64 years | 2 | 2.3 | 2 |
| Always - 50 - 64 years | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Sometimes - 65 years and over | 8.6 | 11.6 | 10.7 |
| Most of the time - 65 years and over | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Always - 65 years and over | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
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