Study: Many Germans are happy

Berlin (dpa) – It was found in a recent survey that one in two people in Germany are highly satisfied with their life. This is the result of the latest round of the Glücksatlas (“Happiness Atlas”), a regularly conducted study exploring life satisfaction among Germans. The survey is based on both subjective and objective factors such as income, infrastructure, the environment and security. The overall satisfaction score was found to be slightly higher in 2025 than in the year before.  

Those surveyed were asked to rate their average level of satisfaction with their life situation on a scale from 0 (not satisfied at all) to 10 (completely satisfied). The average result was 7.09 points, compared to 7.06 points in 2024. 48 percent of participants are in fact highly satisfied (values between 8 and 10), according to their responses.  

“Life satisfaction of Germans has stabilised at a high level,” says Bernd Raffelhüschen, the academic leader of the Glücksatlas study. 

At 7.33 points, people in Hamburg are once more leading the ranking of federal states that is part of the Glücksatlas. 

Next up are Bavaria (7.21), Rhineland-Palatinate (7.21) and North Rhine-Westphalia (7.19). The lowest scoring federal states were Berlin (6.83), Saarland (6.78) and Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (6.06).