The number of Filipinos who are “very happy” with their lives in general increased in the first quarter of 2019, the latest Social Weather Stations’ survey revealed on Monday.
In the survey, SWS found that only four out of 10 Filipinos at 44 percent are “very happy” with their life in general, 49 percent said they are “fairly happy,” 7 percent said they are “not very happy,” while 1 percent said they are “not at all happy.”Filipino
“The 44 percent Very Happy is a 5-point increase from the 39 percent in December 2018. Prior to this, it had been declining for two consecutive quarters since the record-high 57 percent in December 2017,” SWS said.
“On the other hand, the 49 percent Fairly Happy is similar to the 50 percent in June 2018 and 48 percent in December 2018, following the 37 percent in December 2017,” it continued.
“The 8 percent Unhappy [7 percent not very happy and 1 percent not at all happy] is a 5-point decline from the 13 percent in December 2018,” the pollster added.
According to SWS, the five-point rise in the nationwide “Very Happy” score was due to increases of 14 points in Metro Manila, 12 points in the Visayas, and 7 points in Mindanao, combined with a 1-point decline in Balance Luzon.
“The proportion of ‘very happy’ was highest in Mindanao at 58 percent, followed by the Visayas at 57 percent, Metro Manila at 43 percent, and Balance Luzon at 32 percent,” it said.
On the other hand, the proportion of “fairly happy” was highest in Balance Luzon at 59 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 48 percent, Mindanao at 38 percent and the Visayas at 37 percent.
“Unhappiness” was highest in Metro Manila at 9 percent, and Balance Luzon at 9 percent, followed by the Visayas at 6 percent, and Mindanao at 4 percent.
SWS said “very happy” figures in all education levels are higher compared to December 2018.
It was highest among college graduates at 56 percent, followed by non-elementary graduates at 43 percent, elementary graduates at 43 percent, and high school graduates at 42 percent, SWS said.
On the other hand, the proportion of those “fairly happy” was highest among high school graduates at 51 percent, followed by non-elementary graduates at 50 percent, elementary graduates at 48 percent, and college graduates at 41 percent.
Unhappiness was also highest among elementary graduates at 10 percent, followed by non-elementary graduates at 8 percent, high school graduates at 7 percent, and college graduates at 3 percent.
Those number of respondents who said they were “very happy” was highest among Muslims at 66 percent, followed by other Christian denominations at 50 percent, Catholics at 42 percent, and Iglesia ni Cristo members at 39 percent.
Unhappiness was highest among other Christian denominations at 8 percent, and Catholics at 8 percent, followed by Iglesia ni Cristo members at 5 percent, and Muslims at 2 percent.
The said survey also found that 37 percent are “very satisfied” with the lives they lead.
SWS said 37 percent of those polled answered “very satisfied,” 53 percent said they were “fairly satisfied,” 8 percent said “not very satisfied,” and 2 percent said, “not at all satisfied.”
“The 37 percent ‘very satisfied’ with life is a three-point increase from the 34 percent in December 2018. This comes after a 22-point decline over two consecutive quarters since the record-high 56 percent in December 2017,” it said.
On the other hand, the 53 percent “fairly satisfied” is a five-point increase from the 48 percent in December 2018, and the highest since the 55 percent in April 2016.
The 11 percent “Unsatisfied with Life” is a seven-point decline from the 18 percent in December 2018.
The said survey, conducted from March 28 to 31, 2019, used face-to-face interviews with 1,440 adults nationwide. It had sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages, and ±5 percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.