Shiny Happy People: Despite the Recession, Ireland is Still Full of Smiles

If you’re finding it hard to crack a smile on this chilly Monday morning, here’s some news that will hopefully perk up your levels of optimism.

According to a new study today, Irish people are more satisfied and happy with their lives than the majority of our EU counterparts.

Yes, yes, we know it’s hard to believe, especially given the fact that we’re all currently up to our necks in debt, but despite the fact that Ireland is still fighting off the worst recession we’ve ever seen, we’re still happier than wealthy Germany.

In fact, 51 per cent of Irish adults said that they were “thriving” when it came to their levels of happiness compared with just 43 per cent of Germans.

The Danes and the Swedes are the most pleased when it comes to life, closely followed by the Finnish, Dutch and Austrian but hey, at least the vast majority of us are able to see the silver lining in the dark clouds that have been gathering over Ireland for the past few years.

Despite the hard times, many Irish people are still able to look on the bright side.

The good news is that our outlook has gotten sunnier and sunnier as the years have gone on. Believe it or not, Ireland has been a nation of positive thinker since as far back as 2008.

In 2008 1,000 Irish people were questioned by the polling website Gallup. The survey participants were asked if they thought their mood was suffering after five years of the recession and surprisingly only three per cent of those questioned said that they were upset or finding it hard to remain upbeat.

Out of the 27 countries in the European Union, Ireland is the seventh most content which isn’t bad considering the tough time we’ve been having in recent years.

Has the recession had much of an impact on your own mood?