The city with the most content individuals resides in Germany.
The "Happiness Atlas" by the South German Lottery (SKL) has some intriguing results. Unlike what we'd expect based on wealth indicators, the happiest cities aren't necessarily the wealthiest ones. There are other factors that play a bigger role in people's lives.
The residents of Kassel claim to be the happiest in all major German cities, placing the north Hessian city at number one among the 40 biggest cities with over 200,000 inhabitants. Coming in second and third, respectively, are Erfurt and Aachen, according to the "Happiness Atlas" of the SKL. The least happy cities are Rostock, Karlsruhe, and Wiesbaden.
A total of 25,557 residents were questioned between January 2021 and April 2024 by the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach. Since the sampling rate was consistent across cities, pandemic effects can be disregarded. The survey focused on how respondents perceived their quality of life, not considering objective factors like income, infrastructure, or green spaces.
The Happiness Index's correlation with the subjective indicators chosen by the researchers shows that people in the top-ranked cities are happier than they should be based on measurable criteria. "The leading cities in happiness are often smaller, peaceful cities," said survey head Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg. "None of these cities are extremely wealthy, but they have slightly better social welfare indicators than average. These cities tend to have a smaller-town atmosphere, a higher education presence, and a relaxed environment, as well as being quite green and having good air quality." In contrast, cities that seem wealthy based on objective data, such as Munich, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Karlsruhe, are located in the middle to lower ranges.
The study revealed that cities with good family and education policies had the biggest influence on life satisfaction. Healthcare, purchasing power, and environmental quality followed closely behind. A larger GDP, more culture/leisure availability, and better transportation infrastructure had a weaker effect, according to the results.
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The city of Kassel, which boasts the highest happiness levels among major German cities, is featured in the "Happiness Atlas" by the South German Lottery. International recognition for Kassel's happiness can be seen, as it ranks as one of the happiest cities worldwide, according to international happiness indexes.
Source: www.ntv.de
