Young Canadians reported the second-largest decline in life satisfaction according to a new survey, making Canadians under 30-years-old the least happy cohort of their peers among other G7 nations.
Canadians’ life satisfaction has remained in a steady decline since 2013, with happiness making a sharp downward trend since 2017, according to a recent survey conducted by the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
They released their annual World Happiness Report last month, which evaluates the happiness of residents in 143 countries.
Participants are asked to report their happiness on a scale of zero to 10.
Accounting for all age groups worldwide, Canada ranked as the 15th happiest country globally and first in the G7 for 2023.
However, if the oldest cohort of Canadians is excluded, the country falls to second last in the G7 and globally, it trails behind countries like Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Canada’s average happiness score was 6.9 0ver the last two years, making it the 15th happiest country among those surveyed, beating out the U.S. and the U.K. as well as
Finland, Denmark and Iceland self-reported being the three happiest countries, respectively, over that same period.
While the World Happiness Report examines many facets of life satisfaction, it’s the different age cohorts in Canada which reveal the widest disparities amongst Canadians.
Canadians aged 45 to 60 years old and those over the age of 60 ranked the highest among G7 countries, with both age groups reporting higher-than-average levels of life satisfaction.
However, Canadians aged 30-years-old and under scored third unhappiest amongst their G7 peers between 2021 and 2023, with an average happiness score of 6.44.
If one isolated just that cohort of Canadians, the country would be ranked 58th happiest, worldwide.
Canada’s age distribution responses also marked the inverse of most other countries interestingly enough, as the majority of countries in the World Happiness Report revealed their younger cohort to be happier when compared to their old.
This is likely due to young Canadians feeling anxious about their debt and their inability to own a home in the future.
An Equifax Canada survey from last year revealed that 52% of adults in the age group of 18 to 34-years-old are anxious about their personal debt.
Moreover, 36% of young Canadians reported that they missed a bill payment in 2023, when compared to 23% of all respondents.