Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy

Italy: Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life was 65.2% in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
65.2%
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
26th
of 34 countries
All-time high
80.1%
in 2002
All-time low
56.2%
in 1976
Years of data
42
1973–2016

Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy, 1973–2016

0204060801973199420161973: 65 %1975: 56.6 %1976: 56.2 %1977: 60.8 %1978: 61.4 %1979: 58.7 %1980: 64.2 %1981: 66.9 %1982: 67 %1983: 65.4 %1984: 66.7 %1985: 64.4 %1986: 70.5 %1987: 65.5 %1988: 69.6 %1989: 77.3 %1990: 75 %1991: 79.3 %1992: 75 %1993: 76.9 %1994: 76.5 %1996: 80 %1997: 73.4 %1998: 73.3 %1999: 77.1 %2000: 74.1 %2001: 80 %2002: 80.1 %2003: 76 %2004: 75.8 %2005: 74.7 %2006: 76.2 %2007: 72.7 %2008: 63.7 %2009: 70.1 %2010: 71.1 %2011: 69 %2012: 59.2 %2013: 57.2 %2014: 65.7 %2015: 64.6 %2016: 65.2 %

Source: Eurobarometer (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2016, share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy stood at 65.2%.

The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy peaked at 80.1% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 56.2%, in 1976.

Italy ranks 26th of 34 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy, year by year

Annual values for Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy, 1973 to 2016.
Year % Change
1973 65.0%
1975 56.6% -13.0%
1976 56.2% -0.6%
1977 60.8% +8.2%
1978 61.4% +1.0%
1979 58.7% -4.3%
1980 64.2% +9.2%
1981 66.9% +4.2%
1982 67.0% +0.1%
1983 65.4% -2.3%
1984 66.7% +2.0%
1985 64.4% -3.4%
1986 70.5% +9.4%
1987 65.5% -7.0%
1988 69.6% +6.2%
1989 77.3% +11.1%
1990 75.0% -2.9%
1991 79.3% +5.7%
1992 75.0% -5.4%
1993 76.9% +2.5%
1994 76.5% -0.4%
1996 80.0% +4.5%
1997 73.4% -8.2%
1998 73.3% -0.1%
1999 77.1% +5.1%
2000 74.1% -3.9%
2001 80.0% +7.9%
2002 80.1% +0.2%
2003 76.0% -5.1%
2004 75.8% -0.3%
2005 74.7% -1.4%
2006 76.2% +2.0%
2007 72.7% -4.5%
2008 63.7% -12.4%
2009 70.1% +10.0%
2010 71.1% +1.5%
2011 69.0% -3.0%
2012 59.2% -14.2%
2013 57.2% -3.5%
2014 65.7% +14.9%
2015 64.6% -1.6%
2016 65.2% +0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 59.8% 56.2% 65.0% 6
1980s 67.7% 64.2% 77.3% 10
1990s 76.3% 73.3% 80.0% 9
2000s 74.3% 63.7% 80.1% 10
2010s 64.6% 57.2% 71.1% 7

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 23 Croatia 71.0% compare
  2. 24 Lithuania 67.9% compare
  3. 25 Türkiye 65.6% compare
  4. 27 Portugal 64.6% compare
  5. 28 Hungary 63.8% compare
  6. 29 North Macedonia 61.6% compare

See the full ranking of 34 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy?
Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy was 65.2% in 2016, according to Eurobarometer (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of people who say they are satisfied with their life recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 80.1% in 2002.
What is the lowest share of people who say they are satisfied with their life recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 56.2% in 1976.
How does Italy rank for share of people who say they are satisfied with their life?
Italy ranks 26th out of 34 countries with data for 2016.
Is share of people who say they are satisfied with their life rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from Eurobarometer (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life in Italy. Statizoid, drawing on Eurobarometer (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-people-who-say-they-are-happy-eurobarometer/italy/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of people who say they are satisfied with their life
Unit
%
Source
Eurobarometer (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
34 places, 751 data points, 1973–2016
Last refreshed

Share of people answering "very satisfied" or "fairly satisfied" to the question "On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied with the life you lead?"