it figures

The numbers behind the noise
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Health

2 stories
Health

Britain's Life Satisfaction Moved 2.4 Points in Eleven Years. Then It Fell 430

The ONS personal wellbeing series barely twitched between 2012 and 2022, even through the pandemic. Then the 2023 figure came in at less than half the previous year. The most likely explanation has nothing to do with how happy anyone is.

9 September 2026 · ONS
Health

The Pandemic Barely Dented This Number. Then 2023 Halved It.

Two figures from the same ONS wellbeing file sit side by side and make no sense together: a 2.1-point wobble in the pandemic year, and a drop of more than 430 points in 2023. Only one of them is about how Britain actually feels.

26 August 2026 · ONS