Germans' sense of happiness is only increasing slowly
Germans are only slowly recovering from the coronavirus pandemic in terms of their sense of happiness: the happiness level rose slightly by 0.06 points to 6.92 points in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the SKL Happiness Atlas published in Berlin on Thursday. This is still significantly lower than the 7.14 points of the pre-corona year 2019. The lowest point was in 2021, when the score was just 6.58 points in the worst year of the coronavirus pandemic.
The scientific director of the survey, Freiburg researcher Bernd Raffelhüschen, explained: "The modest increase in happiness shows that certain impairments caused by the pandemic are still having an impact and that new crisis factors are having a dampening effect on the recovery process."
However, in addition to happiness levels, confidence has also recovered slightly. According to the survey, two thirds of the population are currently optimistic about the future, while only seven percent are pessimistic. 31.8% of Germans feel less stressed today than at the time of the pandemic. However, 23.2% said they were more stressed.
The researchers identified the strongest after-effects of the coronavirus period among young people. In 2019, only 7.6% of 18 to 29-year-olds reported frequent or very frequent feelings of anxiety; this year, the figure is 16.4%, almost one in six. According to the survey, diffuse fears are reported about the loss of prosperity, peace, health or the effects of global warming.
The SKL Happiness Atlas, published in Berlin, revealed that the slight increase in Germans' happiness level in 2023, despite the pandemic, was documented at 6.92 points, which is lower than the pre-pandemic score of 7.14 points in 2019. The 'Sense of happiness' among Germans, as depicted in the atlas, has been affected by the lingering effects of the pandemic and new crisis factors.
Source: www.ntv.de
