People in East Devon have higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with life than the national average, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

Every year since 2011 the ONS Annual Population Survey has asked people aged 16 and over in the UK to rate their personal well-being. They are asked to give marks out of 10 for the following four questions:

Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?

To what extent do you feel that the things you do in life are worthwhile?

Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?

Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?

Not surprisingly, the marks across the first three categories plummeted during the Covid pandemic, 2020-2021, and levels of anxiety shot up.

Personal wellbeing improved significantly across all categories during 2022, but the national average figures for the year ending March 2023 indicate a decline in happiness and an increase in anxiety, compared with the previous year.

Life satisfaction: 7.45 out of 10 (7.54 in the previous year)

Worthwhile: 7.73 out of 10 (7.77 in the previous year)

Happiness: 7.39 out of 10 (7.45 in the previous year)

Anxiety: 3.23 out of 10 (3.12 in the previous year)

The figures for East Devon for the same period – April 2022 to March 2023 - show a slightly different picture. Feelings of wellbeing increased compared with the previous 12 months, but so did the level of anxiety. 

Life satisfaction: 7.79 (7.48 in the previous year)

Worthwhile: 7.84 (7.75 in the previous year)

Happiness: 7.73 (7.25 in the previous year)

Anxiety: 3.17 (3.06 in the previous year).

Use the interactive graph to see how feelings of personal wellbeing have changed over the years, as measured by the ONS figures.