MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Most Russians (84%) feel happy and say that being part of a family, being healthy and having a good job are reasons to be cheerful, the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center said in a statement.
"The level of happiness among Russians is still high, as 84% of those surveyed said they were content. The number is high in every social and demographic group but a thing to note is that people who consider their financial situation to be solid (94%) tend to be more optimistic than those complaining about a dire financial situation (66%)," the statement reads.
According to the pollster, family is what still brings Russians happiness, and the importance of this factor has grown in the past six months. "Today, 33% of the poll’s participants say they feel upbeat thanks to their families (up from 30% six months ago)," the statement notes. Since March 2018, the number of people enjoying their lives because they feel healthy rose from 16% to 21%. For others, children and good jobs are keys to happiness - each of these two categories showed a 15% growth.
"Financial difficulties are the primary reason for feeling dissatisfied (12%)," the pollster went on to say. In addition, "the poll’s participants also get frustrated and depressed because of the adverse situation in the country (9%), poor health, low wages and late paychecks (5% for each of those reasons)."
As many as 32% of those polled said that most of their family members and friends were content, while 16% admitted that most people in their immediate circle were discontent with their lives, and 48% said there was an almost equal number of happy and unhappy people around them.
The nationwide telephone poll involving 1,600 people over the age of 18 was conducted on November 14. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% at the 95% confidence level.