From Iceland — Icelandic Islanders Are Happier Than Those Living In Reykjavík

Icelandic Islanders Are Happier Than Those Living In Reykjavík

Published March 3, 2021

Photo by
Art Bicnick

A new report shows that inhabitants of Vestmannaeyjar are the happiest in the country, according to the Population Survey of the regions, Fréttablaðið reports.

The results show that residents of Reykjanesbær and the capital area were the unhappiest of all Icelandic people.

A total of 10,000 people took part in the survey. The survey examined the residents attitudes towards living conditions, labour, market conditions and other important issues such as their mental wellbeing.

The pursuit of happiness.

The people of Vestmannaeyjar were happiest overall with their situation, followed by Akureyri and surrounding Eyjafjörður.

Strandir, Reykhólar and Reykjanesbær saw the largest decrease between surveys, with the last one being conducted in 2017.

The southern Westfjords, Strandir and Reykhólar came out worst in the survey when asked about living conditions.

The residents of Dala were most dissatisfied with their municipality, with Fjarðabyggð and Suðurfjörður taking second and third place in that regard.

Surveying the people.

Vífill Karlsson, Ph.D. in economics at the Association of Local Authorities in Western Iceland, supervised the preparation of the survey. Helgi María Pétursdóttir at the Association of Local Authorities and Business Development in Northeast Iceland helped process the results.

The survey was conducted in September and October, being produced in three languages; Icelandic, English and Polish. Foreigners participated in the survey much more than in the last one.

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