Metadata: General life satisfaction

Statistics Flanders survey (SF survey), Statistics Flanders

General life satisfaction was measured by the following question in the questionnaire:

“How satisfied are you with your life in general? You can answer with a score from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).

The respondents were shown a scale where 0 was labelled as “very dissatisfied” and 10 as “very satisfied”. Respondents also had the option of answering “don’t know/no answer”. Respondents who answer “don’t know/no answer” or who do not select any response category are not included in the analyses. In autumn 2023, this represented 1.2% of respondents.

The data can be broken down by gender, age, household position and level of education, among other things. Education level involves the following groups:

- Low educated: persons without a diploma or at most with a diploma of lower secondary education

- Medium educated: persons with at most an upper secondary school certificate or a certificate of post-secondary non-higher education

- Highly educated: persons with a diploma of higher or university education.

Based on the place of residence of the respondents, the data can be classified according to degree of urbanisation. The degree of urbanisation is divided into six groups of municipalities: major cities, central cities, urban periphery, smaller cities, transitional areas and rural areas. This division is based on the Spatial Structure Plan for Flanders, in which, on the one hand, some categories are included in ‘smaller cities’ and, on the other hand, the rural area is divided into ‘transitional areas’ and ‘rural areas’ on the basis of the Strategic Plan for Spatial Economy.

The data presented are estimates based on the results of the Statistics Flanders survey (SF survey). This is a survey conducted several times a year among the inhabitants of the Flemish Region aged 18 and older. The survey gauges the opinions, convictions and behaviour of the population with regard to social and policy-relevant themes.

Per survey, 6,000 persons are randomly selected from the National Register. The SF survey is a so-called ‘mixed mode’ survey. This means that the respondents can fill out the questionnaire in different ways. First, the selected persons are invited by letter to fill out the questionnaire online. The questionnaire is designed in such a way that it is easy to fill in via the smartphone (‘mobile first’ design). Those who do not participate online will receive a written questionnaire in their mailbox. The combination of an online and paper questionnaire ensures that people who have no or insufficient digital access are also included in the survey.

The results presented here are based on the eighth edition of the SF survey, which was conducted in autumn 2023 (between October 2023 and December 2023). In the end, 2,083 persons participated in this edition. Compared to the initial sample of 6,000 persons, this corresponds to a response rate of 34.7%. The question on general life satisfaction was also previously included in the 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th edition of the SF survey conducted in autumn 2021, spring 2022, autumn 2022 and spring 2023. In the 2^nd edition, 1,718 people participated. Compared to the initial sample of 6,000 people, this corresponds to a response rate of 28.6%. The 4^th edition involved 2,094 persons and a response rate of 34.9%. In the 5^th edition of the SF survey, 2,183 people participated, corresponding to a response rate of 36.4%. In the 7^th edition of the SF survey, 1,869 took part, corresponding to a response rate of 31.2%.

Because of the inevitable differences in the response rates by background characteristics, the final sample is weighted when calculating the results. This means that the under-represented groups are given more weight, while the over-represented groups are given less weight. In this way the proportions between the various target groups in the final sample are restored and brought into line with the sampling frame. In this way, a representative sample for the intended target population is obtained. The following 4 background characteristics are taken into account when weighting the SF survey: gender, age, nationality (Belgian/non-Belgian) and degree of urbanisation.

When interpreting the results of the SF survey, a margin of uncertainty must be taken into account. The smaller the sample on which the figures are calculated, the greater is this margin of uncertainty. Margins of uncertainty are represented in the figures by a 95% confidence interval. This means that if the measurement were repeated 100 times in the same population with different samples, the true value among the population at about 95 samples would be within the interval.

In presenting the results, the evolution of the total score and the differences by background characteristics of the most recent year are highlighted (such as by gender, age, household position, educational level and degree of urbanisation). In order to assess whether there is a statistically significant difference between the total scores of different years or the scores of different groups within a given background characteristic (e.g. between men and women), the confidence intervals of the measurement are considered. When the confidence intervals do not overlap, we speak of a statistical difference. However, this does not necessarily mean that the difference is also significant in terms of content, as this implies a subjective evaluation.

Because of the changed method, the results of the SF survey cannot be compared to the results of the Survey ‘Social-cultural shifts in Flanders’ (SCV-survey), which was conducted annually from 1996 to 2018 by Statistics Flanders. The SF survey is a ‘mixed mode’ survey (online and on paper), whereas the SCV survey was a ‘face-to-face’ survey (with interviewers at home).

Statistics Flanders: SF survey

General life satisfaction