OECD: Israelis More Satisfied With Life Than Europeans

YERUSHALAYIM (Hamodia Staff) —

Israelis report a higher level of “general satisfaction with life” than their European counterparts, according to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report just released.

When asked to rate their feelings of life satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 10, Israelis gave it a 7.1grade, higher than the OECD average of 6.6.

The report, known as the Better Life Index (BLI), tries to measure well-being and progress by asking people from 36 countries to rate their lives in 11 areas: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance.

“People want to be heard. They want to understand how their country compares to others and to know that we are listening,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, adding that BLI, in its third year, has become “an important potential new source of information for policymakers.”

However, the study did not find Israelis happier in every respect. While ranking above OECD countries in health status, subjective well-being and wealth, they were below average in education and skills, housing, environmental quality, personal security, work-life balance and civic engagement.

With regards to health, ranked as the most important category by Israelis, life expectancy stands at almost 82 years, two years over the OECD average.

According to the report, higher life expectancy is generally associated with higher healthcare spending per person, though in Israel total health spending accounts for 7.7% of GDP in Israel, less than the average of 9.4% in OECD countries.

When asked how their general health was, 82% of people in Israel reported to be in good health — higher than the OECD average of 69%.

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