None
ES
A 2026 study of 202,898 people across 22 countries found three questions treated as measures of wellbeing told different stories: life satisfaction and happiness tracked each other closely, while the ‘best possible life’ ladder leaned much more toward national wealth
['Lachlan Brown', 'Written By', 'Lachlan Brown Is Editor-In-Chief Of Science Blog', 'Co-Founder Of Brown Brothers Media. He Writes About Psychology', 'Human Behavior', 'The Unexpected Ways Scientific Findings Reshape How We Understand Everyday Life.', 'More This Author', 'How We Edit']
ScienceBlog.com
Direct questions about life satisfaction and happiness tracked each other closely.
It asks them to imagine steps numbered zero to ten, with the worst possible life at the bottom and the best possible life at the top, then choose where they currently stand.
Average life satisfaction was almost identical between the two broad groups, at 7.03 and 7.02.
Indonesia ranked high on life satisfaction and happiness while Turkey ranked low, though both sat in the same broad non-Western grouping.
Life satisfaction may be the best single item, but one item is not enoughThe authors tentatively recommend life satisfaction when a survey has room for only one evaluative wellbeing question.