Happiness vs. life satisfaction in China
China: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 6.07 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in China, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, happiness vs. life satisfaction in China stood at 6.07. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, happiness vs. life satisfaction in China peaked at 6.07 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.68, in 2011.
That places China 64th out of 157 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4.68 | — |
| 2012 | 4.98 | +6.4% |
| 2014 | 5.14 | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 5.25 | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 5.27 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 5.25 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 5.19 | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 5.12 | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 5.34 | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 5.58 | +4.6% |
| 2022 | 5.82 | +4.2% |
| 2023 | 5.97 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 5.92 | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 6.07 | +2.6% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6.07 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.94, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- China's 6.07 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6.06, 1.0× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.11 | 4.68 | 5.27 | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.79 | 5.34 | 6.07 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 61 Cyprus 6.13 compare
- 62 Honduras 6.1 compare
- 63 Dominican Republic 6.09 compare
- 65 Kyrgyzstan 6.05 compare
- 66 Colombia 6.04 compare
- 66 South Korea 6.04 compare
More social development data for China
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is happiness vs. life satisfaction in China?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in China was 6.07 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 6.07 in 2025.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.68 in 2011.
- How does China rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- China ranks 64th out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is happiness vs. life satisfaction rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Happiness vs. life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.