'Happiness index' in Russia hits 25-year high

MOSCOW, April 30 (Itar-Tass) - Russians are getting happier, sociologists say, citing a public opinion poll by VTsIOM All-Russia Public Opinion Research Centre which takes the nation's "happiness index" this year to a 25-year high of 64 points. Pollsters say three quarters of Russian nationals are happy today, continuing a two-year advance among citizens seeing the sunny side of life in earlier surveys. Young people aged between 18 and 24 and those with a higher education are most happy, it suggests. Only 14 percent of those surveyed said they did not share the same emotion. “The feeling of happiness is connected with family well-being" for every third person polled, the survey says. Interesting jobs or studies are also listed among major factors of happiness, with 13 percent of those polled taking such a view. “The share of those for whom health is a passport to happiness has grown from six to 11 percent,” researchers report. Love makes us happy, said four percent, alongside scope to realise personal potential and material welfare. The same four percent enjoy life in times of peace. “Those who feel unhappy - 15 percent - complain firstly about low pay,” the survey said. “Respondents don’t feel happy either because of old age and illness, lack of a good job and difficult life situations,” it found. However, almost half of the respondents said they are surrounded mainly by happy people. The happiness index is calculated on answers to the question “Everything happens in life - good and bad. But saying in general, are you happy or not?” This index is the difference between positive and negative responses, and is measured in points which may vary between minus 100 and 100. A total of 1,600 people living in 130 settlements in 42 Russian regions were surveyed between April 19-20. Statistical error does not exceed 3.4 percent. Learn more on itar-tass.com