In the first quarter 2025, 66.9% of Belgians^[1] felt happy all the time (9.3%) or most of the time (57.6%). Students (74%) and employed people (72.4%) feel happier than retired (64.5%) and unemployed people (43.6%) and, in particular, people with long-term disabilities (30.5%). This is what emerged from the new results of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

Personal relationships score highly, financial situations less so

Statbel surveys Belgians every quarter about their personal well-being and living conditions. This shows that 70.6% are very satisfied with personal relationships. Yet 9.1% felt always or usually lonely.

Financial situations, however, are less likely to generate high levels of satisfaction: just over one in three (37.9%) are very satisfied with their financial situation. On the other hand, 37.5% indicate that they find it very difficult or rather difficult to make ends meet. For 66.5%, the income remained more or less the same as last year, and 21.5% reported a higher income compared to a year earlier.

Finally, 55.1% indicated that their overall life satisfaction was high.

^[1]The term “Belgians” is used here to describe the inhabitants of private households in Belgium. These figures come from a survey where Statbel asks every quarter some 5,000 Belgians aged 16 to 74 about their personal well-being and living conditions