People in Hammersmith and Fulham are some of the most anxious in the UK.
That’s according to a new government survey on wellbeing, which looked at satisfaction and happiness.
Residents in the borough gave themselves an average rating of 3.5 out of 10 in anxiety section of the survey.
The 2016/17 rating is actually down on its 2015/16 rating of 3.7, but is still above the UK average of 2.9.
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In west London, Hounslow was the happiest place to live, with an average of 7.9 out of 10 in 2016/17, up from 7.5 in 2015/16.
In comparison, people in Ealing are the least happy locally, giving an average rating of 7.4 out of 10, down from 7.5 the year before.
Craven in North Yorkshire is the place where people gave the highest score to the question: “How happy were you yesterday?”
Respondents rated their average happiness as 8.3 out of 10, up from 7.5 the previous year, meaning the area overtakes Eilean Siar, in the Outer Hebrides, which was the happiest place in 2015/16, as the happiest place in the UK.
People in Hertsmere are the least likely to give high marks for happiness for how they were feeling, with people there scoring an average of 6.9 out of 10.
Across the UK, average ratings across the four measures of personal well-being in financial year ending March 2017 were:
- 7.7 out of 10 for life satisfaction.
- 7.9 out of 10 for feeling that what you do in life is worthwhile.
- 7.5 out of 10 for happiness feelings.
- 2.9 out of 10 for anxiety feelings.
Comparing the years ending March 2016 and 2017, there have been statistically significant improvements in average ratings of life satisfaction, up from 7.67 to 7.68 out of 10, and happiness, up from 7.49 to 7.51, for the UK overall.
There was no change in average ratings of anxiety and the sense that things done in life are worthwhile.
Matthew Steel, from the Office for National Statistics, said: “The figures may surprise some, showing a small increase in both reported happiness and life satisfaction during a period that has seen political change and uncertainty.
“It’s worth noting that employment rates rose during the period covered by this report, and other ONS analysis showed people perceiving an improvement in their own financial situations and in the overall economy.
“These are factors we believe may account for some people’s increased sense of personal well-being.”
The four personal well-being questions are:
- Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
- Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
- Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
- Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
People are asked to respond on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is “not at all” and 10 is “completely”.
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