Happiness and Life Satisfaction in Advanced European Countries

Based on the European Value Survey 1999, this article analyzes happiness and life satisfaction in nine rich, industrialized countries with different levels of perceived happiness. Using graphical modeling, the statistical analysis showed that happiness and life satisfaction are related but are different concepts and that contextual as well as individual variables are important in explaining their variations. One of the most important results is that happiness depends on whether the respondent lives in a stable relationship and on country characteristics. Life satisfaction was related to the respondent’s feeling of control and his or her country of residence. In an aggregated analysis, the country-specific variables were analyzed, showing that social capital was the most important predictor of happiness.