MANILA, Philippines – At least 8 out of 10 Filipinos feel happy and satisfied with their lives, said a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey relesed on Sunday, March 17.

The SWS said these results were the lowest recorded since 2014.

According to the national survey, around 87% of Filipinos were generally happy with their lives, while 82% were generally satisfied.  

The survey was conducted from December 16 to 19, 2018.

The latest results were a dive from the record-high happiness (94%) and satisfaction (92%) seen in December 2017.

“This is the lowest ‘happiness’ score in 4 years, since the 85% in December 2014,” the SWS also said.

In the survey, respondents were asked the question: “If you were to consider your life in general these days, how happy or unhappy would you say you are on the whole? Are you very happy, fairly happy, not very happy, or not at all happy?”

The SWS survey showed more Filipinos answering they were unhappy. About 13% of Filipinos said they were unhappy – the highest number recorded since 2015, when 15% of Filipinos said they were unhappy.

The survey also asked respondents: “On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied with the life you lead? Would you say you are very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied?”

Like unhappiness, more Filipinos reported lower levels of satisfaction, with 18% saying they were dissatisfied. It was the highest number SWS recorded since the 21% seen in September 2014.

Numbers down in all areas, classes

Balance Luzon recorded the most significant decline, where happiness fell by 9 points from 95% in December 2017 to 86% in December 2018.

This was followed by Metro Manila were happiness was lower from 90% to 82%, Mindanao from 96% to 89%, and Visayas from 94% to 89%.

Happiness was also down in all classes compared to December 2017.

The biggest decrease was in class E, where happiness fell from 90% in 2017 to 79% in 2018.

Following it was Class D where happiness was lower, from 95% to 88%.

In class ABC, happiness fell from 93% to 91%.

For satisfaction, Filipinos in Metro Manila recorded the biggest decline, as satisfaction fell 12 points from 93% to 81%.

Following this was Mindanao with satisfaction lowered from 91% to 80%, Balance Luzon from 94% to 83%, and Visayas from 89% to 83%.

Satisfaction was also lower in class D, where 83% said they were satisfied in 2018, compared to 93% in 2017.

The same was seen in class E, where 75% said they were satisfied in 2018, compared to 89% in 2018.

In class ABC, satisfaction remains unchanged at 92% in both 2017 and 2018.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults nationwide. It used sampling error margins of ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5% each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. – Rappler.com