King's College London

Using the latest annual life satisfaction data made available by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the 2025 UK Wellbeing Report estimates an additional 650,000 adults have fallen below the Happiness Poverty Line compared to the previous 12 months.

The Happiness Poverty Line is defined as those who rate their satisfaction with life at five or below on the 0-10 scale reported by the ONS. The new report was authored by Dr Maria Cotofan, from the Department of Political Economy, working in partnership with the World Wellbeing Movement.

About seven million adults across the UK are now estimated to be living in happiness poverty: equivalent to more than the entire population of Scotland, and about 13 per cent of the UK population aged 16 and older. The proportion is roughly equivalent to those who live in absolute income poverty in the UK.

Of the home nations, Wales has the highest proportion of residents living below the Happiness Poverty Line (15 per cent) and Northern Ireland has the lowest (12 per cent).

The gradual improvements in average UK wellbeing levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic have been erased. Prior to 2020, the proportion of people living below the Happiness Poverty Line was falling year on year – despite an initial recovery in 2022, that trend has since reversed.

And the latest quarterly figures released by the ONS in May confirm that this stagnation extends into at least the last quarter of 2024.

The World Wellbeing Movement is working alongside a cross-party group of parliamentarians and other policy experts to better understand and address the conditions required to build better lives, and is calling for the UK Government to put the wellbeing of people at the heart of decision-making.

On 16 June, Dr Cotofan and representatives of the World Wellbeing Movement were invited to the House of Lords to present the report and explain their findings to officials and policymakers.

“In order to understand how to improve happiness we need better data on what matters to people in these areas. To actually improve happiness, we need decisive leadership in terms of policies that improve wellbeing.”

Prof Lord Richard Layard, co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement and Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “People are still less satisfied with their lives than before the pandemic. That is a real challenge. But it is encouraging that the government’s approach to spending is now – in principle – based on its impact on life satisfaction. That is what we need for the future.”

Sarah Cunningham, managing director of the World Wellbeing Movement, said: “These concerning findings are a sign that too many people are struggling in their day-to-day lives. The reality of these figures, and the human faces and stories they represent, should act as a wake-up call.

“If we are serious about improving lives and reducing inequality, we need to put wellbeing at the heart of decision-making in public policy.”