Maltese still among happiest people in Europe

The Maltese still score high on the happy barometer but a new study has found that quite a few are less cheerful than their European counterparts.

Less than 60 per cent of Maltese had been cheerful and in good spirits most of the time in the two weeks before they were questioned, a good bit less than the EU average of 72 per cent, according to the second European Quality of Life Survey.

Only the Latvians and Turks proved to be cheerful less often than the Maltese, preliminary results show.

Although they may not be constantly jolly, the Maltese remained among the happiest people in Europe, scoring sixth among 31 countries and reaffirming the results of a study carried out a few years ago, which had tagged the Maltese among the happiest people in the world.

The Maltese also rank sixth when it comes to life satisfaction, with Nordic countries in the lead. On the other hand, Bulgarians were the unhappiest in Europe and the least satisfied with life.

Stress levels run high in Malta, with just 57 per cent claiming to have felt calm and relaxed most of the time in the preceding two weeks. Only the Turks proved to be less calm and relaxed.

The Maltese scored at the bottom of the league on "good mental health", surpassed only by the Turks, while the Norwegians have the best mental health in Europe.

Locals felt less active and vigorous than other Europeans, even after a good night's sleep. Just 13 per cent of Maltese felt their daily life was full of interesting things but they still held positive expectations on the future.

Asked whether they could keep their homes adequately warmed up, the majority of the Maltese - 80.4 per cent - said they could. Despite this, Malta still had one of the highest percentages of people who could not afford to warm their homes.

And less than half the Maltese could afford to pay for an annual week-long holiday or replace worn furniture. Less than 70 per cent could afford to have friends or family over for drinks or dinner at least once a month. But the majority of Maltese could afford to eat meat, chicken or fish every other day and buy new, rather than second-hand, clothes.

Just seven countries surpassed Malta in trusting political parties, although the islands ranked slightly lower when it came to trusting the government and Parliament.

On the education system, the Maltese believed they had a good system, with just the Spaniards coming out on top. The survey was carried out last year and a sample of 1,000 Maltese took part.