Most Turks happy, 75 pct hopeful, survey suggests

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A crowd of people walks on Istiklal Avenue, one of the main shopping districts in Istanbul. The Life Satisfaction Survey held by the official TÜİK shows that Turkish people preferred to buy cheaper goods in 2011 compared with a year earlier. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Turkish people have become happier since 2010, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜİK) “Life Satisfaction Survey 2011” published yesterday.

The percentage of happy women exceeds that of happy men, while the number of debtors decreased even as savings eroded, the survey revealed.

Some 62.1 percent of individuals at 18 years of age or over said they were happy while 9.9 percent said they were unhappy in 2011. The figures were 61.2 and 10.7 percent, respectively, the year before.
Happiness varies across age groups. While 69.5 percent of individuals between 18 and 24 are happy, the figure falls to 57.8 percent among individuals 65 years old and over.

Women happier than men

The data suggests that more women are happy in comparison to men. The percentage of happiness is 64.6 percent in women, while it is 59.5 percent in men, TÜİK said.

The ratio of individuals hopeful about the future is 75.2 percent.

The number of happy people among educated participants surpasses those with lower education. The level of happiness is 61.1 percent for primary-school graduates but is 66.7 percent among college or university graduates.

Married individuals were happier than singles; some 65.5 percent of married individuals are happy, versus 52.9 percent of singles who are happy.

The survey also revealed the impact of the current economic conditions as many consumers have begun purchasing cheaper products. Some 55.7 percent of the participants said they consumed cheaper products in 2011, up from 54.2 percent in 2010.

Some 32.3 percent got into debt last year, down from 33.8 percent in 2010, while 26 percent said their savings decreased in 2011, up from 22.7 percent the previous year. The percentage of participants who witnessed a fall in their incomes dropped to 20.4 percent from 21.7 percent in the same period.

Some 73.8 percent of individuals said the people who made them the happiest were their own families, while 72.8 percent said health was the foremost source of happiness.

“The purpose of the Life Satisfaction Survey is to measure the subjective happiness perception of individuals and satisfactions from main components of life such as health, social security, formal education, work life, income, personal security and judicial services, individual improvement and determine the changes in them in time,” TÜİK said.

The survey, which was conducted in both urban and rural areas, is carried out in November of each year via face-to-face interviews with individuals.

The 2011 Life Satisfaction Survey was carried out at 3,551 households with 7,368 individuals 18 years of age and over.