The UK’s happiness improved in the year after the Brexit vote, according to the ONS
The UK’s sense of satisfaction improved in the year after the country decided to leave the EU, according to data released today.
The report is the first from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to look at the UK’s personal well-being for a full year since the EU referendum.
According to the ONS, the life satisfaction score for the UK was 7.7 out of 10 between July 2016 and June 2017.
The UK’s scores for happiness and feeling that life is worthwhile came in at 7.5 and 7.9 respectively. However, the country’s level of anxiety remained flat.
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The rises in the well-being rating could be due to employment levels rising, and improvements in GDP per head and the net national disposable income per head, the ONS said.
However, the statistics body said real household incomes are falling. It also pointed out the implications of Brexit “remain to be seen” because, although the government has triggered Article 50, the UK has not yet left the EU.
Matthew Steel, a statistician at the ONS, said: “Today’s figures, the first to be based on a full year of data since the EU referendum, show small increases in how people in the UK rate their life satisfaction, happiness and feelings that the things they do in life are worthwhile.
“The improvements were driven by England – the only country where quality of life ratings got better over the last year.”
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