Unhappiness highest in Metro Manila

MANILA - The number of Filipinos who said they were happy with life in general hit a record-high 94 percent in December 2017, according to a Social Weather Stations survey released Tuesday.

This was two points higher than the previous record of 92 percent in June 1996, SWS said.

"Of the 32 surveys since 1991, there have only been five instances wherein over 90% said they were very/fairly happy: June 1996, March 2015, December 2016, September 2017, and December 2017," SWS added.

Meanwhile, 92 percent of Filipinos said they are "very/fairly satisfied" with the lives they lead, with 56 percent "very satisfied", and 37 percent "fairly satisfied."

The survey found that respondents in Mindanao were happiest (96 percent), followed by Balance Luzon (95 percent), Visayas (94 percent), Metro Manila (90 percent).

Unhappiness, meanwhile, was highest in Metro Manila (10 percent), followed by Visayas (6 percent), Balance Luzon (5 percent), and Mindanao (4 percent).

Class D or the "masa" was the happiest at 95 percent, followed by classes ABC at 93 percent, and class E at 90 percent.

The survey also revealed that happiness was highest among high school graduates at 97 percent, followed by college graduates at 94 percent, elementary graduates at 92 percent, and non-elementary graduates at 90 percent.

SWS added that happiness was high among all religions: Catholicism and Iglesia ni Cristo at 94 percent, Islam at 93 percent, and other Christian denominations at 93 percent.

The survey was conducted by SWS from December 8 to 16, 2017 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 and above nationwide.

SWS surveyed 300 adults each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

It had sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.