Dissatisfaction with life in UK unchanged since Covid, official data shows | Economics

Official figures show that although the economic outlook has improved in the UK, the proportion of people dissatisfied with life has not improved since the pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics said a survey of personal well-being in the UK showed that although gross domestic product per head had risen since 2021, average life satisfaction remained below its pre-pandemic peak.

The report also pointed out the recent decline in living standards, noting that GDP per capita in the United Kingdom fell in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

The ONS also noted that trust in the UK government remains low, with around one in five adults (21.9%) in Great Britain reporting trust between December 2025 and January 2026.

The statistics agency said that after a long period of stability until the mid-2010s, the proportion of people reporting low levels of life satisfaction rose sharply during the Covid pandemic between 2020 and 2021. This reached a nine-year high in the first three months of 2021; 6.4% of adults aged 16 and over said they were very dissatisfied with life.

The metric has dropped slightly since then, but has generally remained around 5%; The latest figures from July to September 2025 show that 5.1% of adults are very dissatisfied with life.

The research showed that those who were most dissatisfied with life were those between the ages of 45-64, and the lowest rate of dissatisfaction with life was among those between the ages of 30-34.

However, the proportion of adults reporting very high levels of life satisfaction also increased last year; It increased from 25.5% in July-September 2024 to 26.7% in the same period in 2025.

The ONS said people’s sense of life satisfaction had increased in line with GDP per capita, but this had “differed sharply” during the pandemic and had failed to realign. GDP per capita stood at £10,127 in the last three months of 2025; It was down 0.1% on £10,135 in the previous quarter and up 0.6% on £10,071 in the previous year.

In addition to being less satisfied with life, the proportion of adults who reported being in good or very good health also dropped significantly, falling from 76% at the end of 2020 to 70.9% in the final quarter of 2025. The ONS said this indicated a “sustained post-pandemic decline in overall health”. This was in line with separate statistics showing that economic inactivity due to long-term illness has increased since the pandemic.

The figures come after a series of consumer surveys revealed households still felt pessimistic about the future, despite inflation falling to 3% in January from 3.4% the previous month and interest rates falling steadily.

Consumer confidence in the UK fell for the first time in three months in February as a rise in the number of people expressing concerns about their personal finances for the year ahead, a long-running survey by GfK has found. Similarly, a report by S&P Global said the mood around the finances of UK households was “gloomy” in February, with consumers worried about their debt, future financial prospects and savings.