Dissatisfaction with life in UK unchanged since Covid, official data shows

People’s sense of life satisfaction used to grow in line with GDP per head, but this ‘diverged sharply’ during the pandemic and has failed to realign. Photograph: LeoPatrizi/Getty Images

The proportion of people in the UK who feel dissatisfied with life has failed to improve since the pandemic despite the economic outlook improving, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics said a survey of personal wellbeing in the UK showed average life satisfaction remained below its pre-pandemic peak, despite the rate of gross domestic product per person rising since 2021.